As IndieWire has published its great camera survey regarding Cannes Film Festival 2023, we analyzed the data to reveal that the ARRI ALEXA Mini is still the king of kings. This is the 4th year in a row that this camera dominates the Cannes list. Also, there’s a respectful presence of good and old film cameras. Explore the list below.

The cinematography of the leading film festivals

Just saying — and without noticing, we wrote a title very similar to last year’s Cannes 2022 (“The Cameras Behind Cannes 2022: ALEXA Mini (Still) Dominates”). This shows that filmmakers love the ARRI Mini so much…but we’ll elaborate on this later. We have been waiting for IndieWire to complete its survey regarding the cameras that shot Cannes 2023’s feature films. Each year, IndieWire sends a questionnaire to main festivals’ filmmakers (directors and cinematographers) in order to reveal which tools they used to tell their stories. We, at YMCinema, take the data and translate it to charts and graphs in order to find a tendency, and also to compare it to previous years. Our conclusion is below. First, let’s explore the list of films, DPs, cameras, and lenses (according to IndieWire’s survey):

Cannes 2023: The cameras

Here’s the list of 45 feature films that are premiering in Cannes 2023. Categories are Competition, Director’s Fortnight, Out of Competition, Special Screening, Un Certain Regard, Critic’s Week, and Opening Film. List composed of title, DP, cameras, and lenses:

1. “About Dry Grasses” : DP – Cevahir Sahin and Kursat Uresin. Cameras – Sony VENICE. Lenses – Cooke Anamorphic/i SF
2. “Agra”: DP – Saurabh Monga. Cameras – ARRI ALEXA Mini. Lenses – Cooke S4i
3. “Anatomy of a Fall”: DP – Simon Beaufils. Cameras – ALEXA Mini LF. Lenses – Anamorphic Hawk V-Lite
4. “Asteroid City”: DP – Robert Yeoman. Cameras – ARRICAM ST and ARRICAM LT. Lenses – Cooke S4/i, ARRI Master Anamorphic
5. “Banel e Adama”: DP – Amine Berrada. Cameras – ARRI ALEXA Mini. Lenses – Zeiss Superspeed, Angénieux Optimo
6. “Black Flies”: DP – David Ungaro. Cameras: ARRI ALEXA Mini LF. Lenses: ARRI Rental Moviecam
7. “Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry”: DP – Agnesh-Pakozdi. Cameras – ARRI ALEXA Mini LF. Lenses – Canon FD
8. “Creatura”: DP – Alana Mejia Gonzalez. Cameras – ARRI ALEXA Mini. Lenses – Hawk V-Lite 2x Anamorphic
9. “Deserts”: DP – Florian Berutti. Cameras – ARRI ALEXA Mini. Lenses: KOWA Anamorphics, LOMO Super Speed
10. “Firebrand”: DP – Helene Louvart. Cameras – Sony VENICE. Lenses: Hawk Anamorphic
11. “Hounds”: DP – Amine Berrada. Cameras – ARRI ALEXA Mini. Lenses: Leica Summilux-C
12. “How To Have Sex”: DP: Nicolas Canniccioni. Cameras – ALEXA Mini LF. Lenses: Canon K35
13. “If Only I Could Hibernate”: DP – Davaanyam Delgerjargal. Cameras – ARRI ALEXA Mini LF, RED Scarlet. Lenses – Sigma Cine, Zeiss Compact Primes
14. “In Flames”: DP: Aigul Nurbulatova. Cameras – ARRI ALEXA Mini. Lenses – Leica R Primes, Cooke Zooms
15. “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”: DP – Phedon Papamichael. Cameras – ARRI ALEXA LF, ALEXA Mini LF. Lenses – Panavision C & T-Series
16. “Inshallah A Boy”: DP – Kanamé Onoyama. Cameras – ARRI ALEXA Mini LF. Lenses – Zeiss Contax Primes
17. “La Chimera”: DP – Helene Louvart. Cameras – ARRICAM LT, ARRIFLEX 416. Lenses – ARRI Ultra Primes
18. “Le Regne Animal”: DP – David Cailley. Cameras – ARRI ALEXA Mini LF. Lenses – Panavision Primo 70
19. “Léngua”: DP – Vasco Viana. Cameras – ARRIFLEX 416, ARRI AEXA Mini, Sony A7s 2. Lenses – Cooke S4/i, Cooke Ultra 16, Angenieux Optimo
20. “Lost in the Night”: DP – Adrian Durazo. Cameras – ARRI ALEXA Mini LF. Lenses – Cooke Anamorphic FF
21. “Mambar Pierrette”: DP – Fiona Braillon. Cameras – Sony FS7 II. Lenses – Fujinon MK
22. “Marguerite’s Theorem”: DP – Jacques Girault. Cameras -ARRI ALEXA Mini. Lenses – Cooke S4/i, Angenieux Zoom
23. “May December”: DP – Christopher Blauvet. Cameras – ARRI ALEXA 35. Lenses – Kowa Cine Prominar
24. “Monster”: DP – Kondo Ryuto. Cameras – Sony VENICE,  RONIN 4D. Lenses – ARRI Master Anamorphic, Canon FD
25. “Occupied City”: DP – Lennert Hillege  Cameras – ARRICAM ST. Lenses: Leica Summilux-C
26. “Omen”: DP – Joachim Philippe. Cameras – ARRI ALEXA Mini. Lenses – Canon FD TLS
27. “Only The River Flows”: DP – Chengma. Cameras – ARRIFLEX 416. Lenses – ARRI Master Prime, Zeiss Super Speed
28. “Perfect Days”: DP – Franz Lustig. Cameras – Sony VENICE 2, Rialto 6K sensor. Lenses – Canon K35 TLS
29. “Rein a Perdre”: DP – Guillaume Schiffman. Cameras – ARRI ALEXA Min. Lenses – Leitz Summilux C
30. “Riddle of Fire”: DP – Jake L. Mitchell. Cameras – ARRIFLEX 416. Lenses – ARRI Ultra Primes
31. “Terrestrial Verses”: DP – Adib Sobhani. Cameras – ARRI ALEXA SXT. Lenses – Zeiss Master Primes
32. “The Breaking Ice”: DP – Yu Jing Pin. Cameras – ARRI ALEXA Mini LF. Lenses – Cooke S7/i
33. “The Buriti Flower”: DP – Renee Nader-Messora. Cameras – Aaton XTR. Lenses – Zeiss Super Speed
34. “The Delinquents”: DP – Alejo Maglio. Cameras – ARRI ALEXA Mini. Lenses – Cooke S4/i
35. “The (Ex)perience of Love”: DP – Jorge Piquer Rodriguez. Cameras – ARRI ALEXA Mini. Lenses – Leica-R
36. “The Feeling That The Time For Doing Something Has Passed”: DP – Barton Cortright. Cameras – RED Gemini. Lenses – Zeiss Super Speeds, Angenieux 25-250 hr
37. “The Goldman Case”: DP – Patrick Ghiringhelli. Cameras – Sony VENICE. Lenses – Angenieux Optimo
38. “The New Boy”: DP – Warwick Thornton Cameras – Panavision XL2. Lenses: Panavision Anamorphic C & E Series
39. “The Old Oak”: DP – Robbie Ryan. Cameras – ARRICAM ST. Lenses – ARRI Master Primes
40. “The Other Laurens”: DP – Florian Berutti. Cameras – IKONOSKOP D2. Lenses – Cooke 10-30 T1.6, Lomo Super Speed
41. “The Settlers”: DP – Simone Darcangelo. Cameras – Sony VENICE. Lenses: Zeiss Contax
42. “The Sweet East”: DP – Sean Price Williams. Cameras – Aaton. Lenses – Zeiss MK1 Primes
43. “Une Nuit”: DP – Eponine Momenceau. Cameras – ARRI ALEXA Mini. Lenses: Sigma Cine
44. “Vincent Must Die”: DP – Manuel Dacosse. Cameras – ARRI ALEXA Mini. Lenses – Cooke Anamorphic
45. “Ziao Bai Chuan”: DP – Hao Jiayue. Cameras – ARRI ALEXA Mini. Lenses – Cooke S4/i

Cannes Film Festival 2023: Camera Chart

Explore below the Cannes Film Festival 2023: Camera Chart, based on the list above (click on the chart to view it in full resolution):

Discussion

ARRI ALEXA Mini rules

It’s pretty amazing that a camera that was released in 2015, is still very relevant for today’s filmmakers. Not only that, but the ARRI Mini with the Super 35 sensor has been the dominant camera in previous Cannes Film Festivals. And now, when its price is more affordable, the camera continues to hold solidly at almost every rental house. Furthermore, many filmmakers can now afford to purchase an ARRI ALEXA Mini body for themselves, and use it professionally and without any issues. Moreover, it indicates that the Super 35mm format stays very relevant. In fact, it seems that Cannes filmmakers have chosen to shoot S35 over the large format.

Film vs. Digital

Based on the data, we created a pie chart demonstrating the segmentation between film and digital cameras used by Cannes 2023’s filmmakers. It’s intriguing to explore that film cameras were more than 20% of the total cameras. Hence, many artists have chosen to shoot film, despite all the challenges involved. And that’s definitely a good thing, which indicates creativity and dedication to the filmmaking process. Check out the chart below which shows that film cameras (mainly the ARRICAM, ARRIFLEX, and even Aaton) are still very much relevant to modern filmmakers: 

The most interesting camera is: IKONOSKOP D2

The film “The Other Laurens”, was shot by DP Florian Berutti on a very interesting camera called IKONOSKOP D2. The camera was paired with Cooke 10-30 T1.6, and Lomo Super Speed lenses. This is the most interesting camera on that list. The camera was released 10 years ago and was ‘abandoned’. The IKONOSKOP D2 is a 16mm camera that can record ‘creamy’ stunning imagery that reminds legacy film cameras. In our opinion, Berutti should be praised for choosing this very special and unconventional piece of gear to tell the story. And for that reason, the marriage between the IKONOSKOP D2 and the Cooke Look seems very logical from an artistic point of view. Anyway, for those who want to learn more about the IKONOSKOP D2, check out this great video by Frame Voyager:

Summary

Exploring the cameras used at independent film festivals is much more fascinating compared to ‘just’ the Oscars and/or Emmys. That’s because independent filmmakers prove they have the artistic courage to choose whatever they want to tell their unique stories, and without being affected by the camera companies’ PR hammer. Choosing a legacy camera, or a film camera, and shooting with smaller sensors to serve the art better, is filmmaking in its whole glory. And that’s what matter most.