“I was really so lucky because I got to work with some of the best cinematographers in the world,” Barbra said as she accepted the American Society of Cinematographers’ Board of Governors Award. Cinematographer Andrzej Bartkowiak (Nuts, Mirror Has Two Faces) presented her the award.
“When I arrived in Hollywood, I didn’t have the usual qualifications for a movie star,” she said. “I have a strange face, very different from each side. People who are easy to photograph typically have very symmetrical faces, big heads, big eyes. I have a small head, a very odd nose, my mouth is too big, and my eyes are too small. But Harry enjoyed the challenge and we became fast friends. We spent hours experimenting with the light, hard lights, eye lights… Harry even rigged up what he called a ‘Strei-light’ held by a best boy who followed me around when I moved. It was fantastic.”
From the stage, Barbra shared anecdotes about her collaborations with cinematographers Harry Stradling Sr., Laszlo Kovacs, Gordon Willis, Robert Surtees and James Wong Howe, as well as David Watkin, BSC, who shot her directing debut,
Yentl.