Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto receives Vilcek Prize in Filmmaking

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NEW YORK, March 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Vilcek Foundation has produced a new video and published an article highlighting the life and work of cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto. Born in Mexico, Prieto became one of the most coveted cinematographers in Hollywood following his work on Alejandro González Iñárritu's 2000 film Amores Perros. Late last year, Prieto was announced as the recipient of the 2021 Vilcek Prize in Filmmaking.

In the video and article, Prieto speaks about his early experiments in filmmaking on Super 8, and his love for the art and craft of cinematography. "You can't sometimes describe why a certain texture, a certain color, a certain framing 'feels' a certain way, but it does," he says. "Cinematography is an abstract art form in the sense that an audience doesn't realize how they're being manipulated—by the lighting, by the camerawork, by the lens choice—to evoke emotional states."

Prieto is known for his meticulous setups, unconventional camerawork, and ability to create moving, visceral cinematic experiences. His frequent collaborators include Martin Scorsese, Ang Lee, Oliver Stone, Alejandro González Iñárritu, and Julie Taymor. Nominated for three Academy Awards—for his work on Lee's Brokeback Mountain (2006) and Scorsese's Silence (2017) and The Irishman (2019)—Prieto has also been recognized by the Independent Spirit Awards, BAFTA, and the American Society of Cinematographers. 

The son of an artist and an aeronautical engineer, Prieto balances technology and artistry to create the visual qualities he desires to accomplish a given effect or atmosphere—from using infrared film to dramatic effect in Oliver Stone's Alexander to the meticulous referencing of film stock color profiles he undertook to achieve period looks over five decades in The Irishman. "That combination of my mother's visual artistry and my father's technical ability is something that I have in my DNA," he says, "utilizing technology and different techniques to create art."

"I want to participate in movies that say something to me from an emotional level," says Prieto. "I gravitate to scripts and ideas that have something that I want to explore in myself."

The Vilcek Prize in Filmmaking is awarded as part of the Vilcek Foundation Prizes in the arts and humanities. Awarded in a different category each year, the prizes recognize and celebrate the contributions of immigrant vanguards and innovators in each category.

"As leaders in the arts, we have a responsibility to promote diversity by making space, providing access, and amplifying the artistic contributions of marginalized groups and individuals," says Vilcek Foundation President Rick Kinsel. "The Vilcek Prizes in the arts and humanities enable us to speak to the value of immigration for our society in a non-politicized way."

Read the article and watch the full video from the Vilcek Foundation at the following link: Rodrigo Prieto: "Being a foreigner gives you a certain perspective."

The Vilcek Foundation

The Vilcek Foundation raises awareness of immigrant contributions in the United States and fosters appreciation of the arts and sciences. The foundation was established in 2000 by Jan and Marica Vilcek, immigrants from the former Czechoslovakia. The mission of the foundation—to honor immigrant contributions to the United States, and more broadly to foster appreciation of the arts and sciences—was inspired by the couple's respective careers in biomedical science and art history. Since 2000, the foundation has awarded over $5.8 million in prizes to foreign-born individuals and supported organizations with over $5.2 million in grants.

The Vilcek Foundation is a private operating foundation, a federally tax-exempt nonprofit organization under IRS Section 501(c)(3).

Contact
Elizabeth Boylan
The Vilcek Foundation
212-472-2500
[email protected]

SOURCE The Vilcek Foundation

Related Links

http://www.vilcek.org