John Andreas Andersen – cinematographer – Headhunters / King of Devil’s Island
FRED’s Matt Micucci interviews cinematographer John Andreas Anderson, one of the world’s most celebrated cinematographers, and a guest of the Ostrava Kamera Oko 2015, a festival that pays tribute to the work of those in his line of artistry.
Two films on which he collaborated, HEADHUNTERS by Morten Tyldum and KING OF DEVIL’S ISLAND by Marius Holst were screened here, but he also hosted a masterclass during the course of the festival.
We took this opportunity to talk to him about many aspects of cinematography. Such as the impact the digital revolution had on the film industry. Whether he finds it is good to be well prepared or absolutely impulsive. Having been the assistant to the great cinematographer early in his career Sven Nykvist, and one of the biggest representatives in today’s cinema of the Scandinavian cinematography, we take the opportunity to discuss with him why this particular style and visual language is so influential all over the world. All this and much more.
John Andreas Andersen was born in 1971 in Flekkefjord, Norway. He has won national film competition aged only 16 and decided to work with film. As DoP he has worked on short-films, music-videos and documentaries. In 1994 John got a position as camera assistant for world famous DOP Sven Nykvist, ASC (1922-2006).With Sven’s support he got into filmschool; AFI in Los Angeles in 1996. Since filmschool he has made features and commercials. John A. Andersen is a winner of several awards; including four Kanon Awards for Best Cinematography of the year, the Amanda-award (Norwegian «Oscar») and the Kodak Nordic Vision Award for his “King of Devils Island”(dir. Marius Holst).