Phedon Papamichael

Phedon Papamichael

Birth : 1962-01-01, Athens, Greece

History

Phedon Papamichael (Greek: Φαίδων Παπαμιχαήλ, born 1962) is a cinematographer and film director. Born in Athens, Greece, Papamichael came to the United States at age six when his father went to work as a production designer for John Cassavetes. He studied photography and art at the University of Munich, graduating with a degree in Fine Arts in 1982. He learned cinematography on the job, starting with Dance of the Damned in 1988. Papamichael made his directorial debut with Showtime's Sketch Artist in 1992. He also directed the 1994 independent film Dark Side of Genius. He has been a member of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) since 2000. In the same year he won the Prix Vision at the Avignon Film Festival for 27 Missing Kisses. Phedon's most recent directed film From Within premiered April 25, 2008 at the Tribeca Film Festival and was later included as one of the films in the third After Dark Films 8 Films to Die For series.

Profile

Phedon Papamichael
Phedon Papamichael

Movies

Light Falls
Producer
A well-off young lesbian couple vacationing on a Greek island explores an abandoned hotel. An accident and a clash of different worlds set off a spiral of violence and revenge.
Light Falls
Director of Photography
A well-off young lesbian couple vacationing on a Greek island explores an abandoned hotel. An accident and a clash of different worlds set off a spiral of violence and revenge.
Light Falls
Director
A well-off young lesbian couple vacationing on a Greek island explores an abandoned hotel. An accident and a clash of different worlds set off a spiral of violence and revenge.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Director of Photography
Finding himself in a new era, and approaching retirement, Indy wrestles with fitting into a world that seems to have outgrown him. But as the tentacles of an all-too-familiar evil return in the form of an old rival, Indy must don his hat and pick up his whip once more to make sure an ancient and powerful artifact doesn't fall into the wrong hands.
Brighton 4th
Director of Photography
Follows Georgian ex-wrestler’s journey to Brooklyn, New York. His aim is to get his son out of a gambling debt. He meets people who help him and people who ignore him.
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Director of Photography
What was supposed to be a peaceful protest turned into a violent clash with the police. What followed was one of the most notorious trials in history.
Ford v Ferrari
Director of Photography
American car designer Carroll Shelby and the British-born driver Ken Miles work together to battle corporate interference, the laws of physics, and their own personal demons to build a revolutionary race car for Ford Motor Company and take on the dominating race cars of Enzo Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in 1966.
Downsizing
Director of Photography
A kindly occupational therapist undergoes a new procedure to be shrunken to four inches tall so that he and his wife can help save the planet and afford a nice lifestyle at the same time.
Willie Nelson at the Teatro - The complete sessions
Cinematography
When Willie Nelson and album producer Daniel Lanois set out to create a cinematic-sounding album, "Teatro", they took over a disused movie theatre in Oxnard, California, and pictured its dusty glory on the cover art. Recorded as-live in situ amid the red velvet seats, Teatro sees Nelson working extensively with his frequent collaborator Emmylou Harris, who joins him for duets and on backing vocals. Recorded 1998. Wim Wenders filmed the event.
Logan
Additional Photography
In the near future, a weary Logan cares for an ailing Professor X in a hideout on the Mexican border. But Logan's attempts to hide from the world and his legacy are upended when a young mutant arrives, pursued by dark forces.
A Beautiful Day
Producer
Gene Thompson wakes up knowing that the decision he has made will change his life forever.
A Beautiful Day
Director
Gene Thompson wakes up knowing that the decision he has made will change his life forever.
The Huntsman: Winter's War
Director of Photography
As two evil sisters prepare to conquer the land, two renegades—Eric the Huntsman, who aided Snow White in defeating Ravenna in Snowwhite and the Huntsman, and his forbidden lover, Sara—set out to stop them.
Help
Director of Photography
The first live-action Spotlight Story, HELP, brings cinema-quality filmmaking to the world of 360 storytelling. Filmed with a groundbreaking and custom-built camera array system, HELP drops the audience into the middle of downtown Los Angeles where an unexpected meteor shower has left a deep scar on the streets of Chinatown. What happens next creates panic in the streets and sends a young woman scrambling to escape.
The Monuments Men
Director of Photography
Based on the true story of the greatest treasure hunt in history, The Monuments Men is an action drama focusing on seven over-the-hill, out-of-shape museum directors, artists, architects, curators, and art historians who went to the front lines of WWII to rescue the world’s artistic masterpieces from Nazi thieves and return them to their rightful owners. With the art hidden behind enemy lines, how could these guys hope to succeed?
Nebraska
Director of Photography
An aging, booze-addled father takes a trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son in order to claim what he believes to be a million-dollar sweepstakes prize.
Balkan Spirit
Self - Cinematographer & Director
Filmmaker Hermann Vaske explores the creative Balkan world in the hopes of understanding the meaning of "Balkan spirit".
This Is 40
Director of Photography
Pete and Debbie are both about to turn 40, their kids hate each other, both of their businesses are failing, they're on the verge of losing their house, and their relationship is threatening to fall apart.
Maniac
Cinematography
Short horror mockumentary about a camera crew that follows two serial killers.
The Ides of March
Director of Photography
Dirty tricks stand to soil an ambitious young press spokesman's idealism in a cutthroat presidential campaign where 'victory' is relative.
The Descendants
Director of Photography
With his wife Elizabeth on life support after a boating accident, Hawaiian land baron Matt King takes his daughters on a trip from Oahu to Kauai to confront a young real estate broker, who was having an affair with Elizabeth before her misfortune.
Knight and Day
Director of Photography
A fugitive couple goes on a glamorous and sometimes deadly adventure where nothing and no one – even themselves – are what they seem. Amid shifting alliances and unexpected betrayals, they race across the globe, with their survival ultimately hinging on the battle of truth vs. trust.
Arcadia Lost
Director
Two teenagers wander rural Greece after being stranded by a car crash. They encounter an itinerant vagabond on their travels.
W.
Director of Photography
The story of the eventful life of George W. Bush—his struggles and triumphs, how he found both his wife and his faith—and the critical days leading up to his decision to invade Iraq.
From Within
Director
When the citizens of a small evangelical town systematically begin committing suicide, a young girl struggling to reconcile her Christian upbringing with her desire to experience the outside world finds her faith put to the ultimate test.
3:10 to Yuma
Director of Photography
In Arizona in the late 1800s, infamous outlaw Ben Wade and his vicious gang of thieves and murderers have plagued the Southern Railroad. When Wade is captured, Civil War veteran Dan Evans, struggling to survive on his drought-plagued ranch, volunteers to deliver him alive to the "3:10 to Yuma", a train that will take the killer to trial.
The Pursuit of Happyness
Director of Photography
A struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional career.
10 Items or Less
Director of Photography
An actor who is considering the role of a supermarket manager arrives at a grocery store on the outskirts of Los Angeles to do some field research. He subsequently becomes stranded, without a car or cell phone, and accepts a ride home with Scarlet, a cashier who is about to interview for a new job. The actor rediscovers the essence of his craft while helping Scarlet gain the confidence she needs to change her life.
The Weather Man
Director of Photography
A Chicago weather man, separated from his wife and children, debates whether professional and personal success are mutually exclusive.
Walk the Line
Director of Photography
A chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash's life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins.
Sideways
Director of Photography
Two middle-aged men embark on a spiritual journey through Californian wine country. One is an unpublished novelist suffering from depression, and the other is only days away from walking down the aisle.
Shattered Glass
Additional Director of Photography
The true story of fraudulent Washington, D.C. journalist Stephen Glass, who rose to meteoric heights as a young writer in his 20s, becoming a staff writer at The New Republic for three years. Looking for a short cut to fame, Glass concocted sources, quotes and even entire stories, but his deception did not go unnoticed forever, and eventually, his world came crumbling down.
Identity
Director of Photography
Complete strangers stranded at a remote desert motel during a raging storm soon find themselves the target of a deranged murderer. As their numbers thin out, the travelers begin to turn on each other, as each tries to figure out who the killer is.
Moonlight Mile
Director of Photography
As he copes with the death of his fiancee along with her parents, a young man must figure out what he wants out of life.
Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet
Director of Photography
Ten Minutes Older is a 2002 film project consisting of two compilation feature films entitled The Trumpet and The Cello. The project was conceived by the producer Nicolas McClintock as a reflection on the theme of time at the turn of the Millennium. Fifteen celebrated film-makers were invited to create their own vision of what time means in ten minutes of film.
BAP - Viel Passiert
Cinematography
Documentary about the rock group BAP from Cologne in Germany.
Twelve Miles to Trona
Cinematography
"Twelve Miles to Trona” finds Wim Wenders back in his early road movie mode with a visually revved-up story about a young man who has unwittingly overdosed on drug-laced cookies and is trying to get to a hospital before they take their full, heart-racing effect. Included in the omnibus movie "Ten MInutes Older: The Trumpet"
America's Sweethearts
Director of Photography
In the midst of a nasty public breakup of married movie stars, a studio publicist scrambles to put a cap on the escalating situation as the couple's latest film has found it's only print kidnapped by the director.
The Million Dollar Hotel
Director of Photography
The Million Dollar Hotel starts with a jump from a roof top that clears up a death in a hotel that was burning to the ground where a lot of strange people had been living.
Patch Adams
Director of Photography
The true story of Dr. Hunter "Patch" Adams, who in the 1970s found that humor is the best medicine, and was willing to do just anything to make his patients laugh—even if it meant risking his own career.
MouseHunt
Director of Photography
Down-on-their luck brothers, Lars and Ernie Smuntz, aren't happy with the crumbling old mansion they inherit... until they discover the estate is worth millions. Before they can cash in, they have to rid the house of its single, stubborn occupant—a tiny and tenacious mouse.
The Locusts
Director of Photography
Delilah Potts has always had her choice of men to work her ranch and fill her bed. But from the moment Clay Hewitt, a handsome drifter with a mysterious past, arrives at her door, Delilah knows that her life will never be the same. And when he spurns her affections, she unleashes a torrent of forbidden passions and deadly secrets that will prove to Clay that the only thing darker and more dangerous than the past he's escaping... is the one he's about to discover.
Unhook the Stars
Director of Photography
Widowed mother Mildred must suddenly redefine herself and find an outlet for her nurturing side when her adult daughter moves out of the family home. Though Mildred thinks she's found her purpose when her neighbor, overworked single mother Monica, asks her to look after her little boy, she has great difficulty learning to strike a healthy balance between giving selflessly to others and remembering to take care of herself.
Phenomenon
Director of Photography
An ordinary man sees a bright light descend from the sky, and discovers he now has super-intelligence and telekinesis.
Bio-Dome
Director of Photography
Bud and Doyle are two losers who are doing nothing with their lives. Both of their girlfriends are actively involved in saving the environment, but the two friends couldn't care less about saving the Earth. One day, when a group of scientists begin a mission to live inside a "Bio-Dome" for a year without outside contact, Bud and Doyle mistakenly become part of the project themselves.
Unstrung Heroes
Cinematography
Steven Lidz, unhappy with his home life since his mother became sick, moves in with his two eccentric uncles. As Steven grows closer to his uncles, he learns how to cope with his emotions and to value his own uniqueness.
White Dwarf
Director of Photography
In a distant future New York medical student Driscoll Rampart accomplishes his internship at Rusta, a rural planet that doesn't revolve around its axis and therefore is divided into contrasting halves of eternal day vs. eternal night. One is a Victorian-styled colony, the other a medieval kingdom. Both leave Rampart in a state of constant wonder, as he finds his way among humans and aliens, strange dreams and even stranger reality, a dark keep and a red sea, and more universal matters of war and peace, good and bad, love and hate and sickness and health.
While You Were Sleeping
Director of Photography
A transit worker pulls commuter Peter off railway tracks after he's mugged, but—while he's in a coma—his family mistakenly thinks she's Peter's fiancée, and she doesn't correct them. Things get more complicated when she falls for his brother, who's not quite sure that she's who she claims to be.
Dark Side of Genius
Director of Photography
Julian Jons is a talented but troubled young artist. He has just been released from an asylum, where he has spent the last seven years for the murder of Anna, his girlfriend/model. Attempting to start painting again, he is pursued by journalist Jennifer Cole, who is intrigued by this complex, brooding man. Against the backdrop of the modern art world, she begins to dig into the past, fully aware that it holds painful memories for Julian, and perhaps danger for herself.
Dark Side of Genius
Director
Julian Jons is a talented but troubled young artist. He has just been released from an asylum, where he has spent the last seven years for the murder of Anna, his girlfriend/model. Attempting to start painting again, he is pursued by journalist Jennifer Cole, who is intrigued by this complex, brooding man. Against the backdrop of the modern art world, she begins to dig into the past, fully aware that it holds painful memories for Julian, and perhaps danger for herself.
Cool Runnings
Director of Photography
When a Jamaican sprinter is disqualified from the Olympic Games, he enlists the help of a dishonored coach to start the first Jamaican bobsled team.
Sketch Artist
Director
A sketch artist for the police helps a witness recall who she saw leaving the scene of a murder, and discovers that the person is his wife. Not willing to believe she was responsible, he resketches the pictures so they don't look like her, and he begins his own investigation of the murder.
Poison Ivy
Director of Photography
A seductive teen befriends an introverted high school student and schemes her way into the lives of her wealthy family.
Prayer of the Rollerboys
Director of Photography
Griffin, a rollerblader in the not so distant future of an economically wrecked Los Angeles, races against time to save both his younger brother and the city from the fate dealt out by the fascist rollerblading street gang, the Rollerboys.
Body Chemistry
Director of Photography
A research project on sexual response leads two doctors into an affair and their deepest passions and darkest fantasies are revealed.
Streets
Cinematography
Tough drama looks at the plight of a young L.A. prostitute, who shoots heroin to get through the day, sells sex just to survive, and eats roadkill sometimes when there isn't anything else available. Into this futile existence is thrown a psycho killer, who gets off on raping and slaughtering the girls he catches on the streets. Sy is a straight kid from Sanata Barbara, who gets drawn into this scuzzy underworld and tries to rescue the young prostitute from the killer and her existence.
After Midnight
Director of Photography
A college professor teaching a course called "The Psychology of Fear" brings his students (including a psychic) to his home, one dark and stormy night to tell scary stories. The first involves a young couple whose car breaks down by an old, abandoned house. The second has four trendy teenage girls getting lost in a bad part of town and chased by a pack of vicious dogs. Last, a woman on crutches confronting a stalker at the answering service where she works the night shift.
Nowhere to Run
Director of Photography
Rural Texas, 1960 -- An age of good times and innocence, when growing up was supposed to be easy. Six high school seniors know the terrible secret that will make the difference in the biggest election in the county's history. Now they must make the most difficult decision of their lives. They must become adults. Written by Concorde - New Horizons
Stripped to Kill 2: Live Girls
Cinematography
When the razor blade slasher begins his reign of terror in the alleys behind the Los Angeles strip clubs, the most famous stripper in the spotlight must walk a tightrope between her own fragile sanity and the inescapable murderer's blade.
Dance of the Damned
Director of Photography
A vampire follows his instincts to a strip joint where he focuses in on one of the performers. He picks her for his meal because she is contemplating suicide, but he wants to share her life before taking it, and during the course of the evening they discuss their differences, their fears, and their lifestyles. As the moment of truth approaches, the woman becomes less sure that she wants to die.
A Complete Unknown
Director of Photography
19-year-old Bob Dylan arrives in New York City in 1961 seeking to find his hero, an ailing Woody Guthrie. He is embraced by the New York folk scene (Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez and others) who recognize his talent. He finds gigs in downtown clubs and soon becomes a sensation, landing a contract with Columbia Records. From there, Dylan ascends to the status of a cultural phenomenon, but ultimately transitions away from folk music as he embraces the electric guitar, confusing his fans and disappointing the music community that first took him in.
Daddio
Cinematography
The film follows a young woman, who after landing at JFK airport in New York City, jumps into the backseat of a yellow taxi. The cabbie, Clark, throws the vehicle into drive and the two head out into the night… striking up the most unexpected conversation. What begins as amusing chit chat quickly takes a turn towards mysterious and playful, then grows into viscerally honest revelations about relationships, sex and power dynamics, loss and vulnerability. This contained yet kinetic drama explores the complexities of human connection, and proves that a chance encounter with a total stranger can change a person’s life.