'Descendants' Cameraman Phedon Papamichael Gets Oldenburg Retrospective

COLOGNE, Germany - The Oldenburg Film Festival, billed as Germany's answer to Sundance, will honor celebrated cinematographer Phedon Papamichael with a retrospective this year.

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The Greek-born, German-educated cameraman made his career in Hollywood, where he shot such films as Gabriele Muccino's The Pursuit of Happyness starring Will Smith and George Clooney's political drama The Ides of March. He is probably most closely associated with director Alexander Payne, having shot both The Descendants and Sideways. Papamichael has also been a regular collaborator with acclaimed directors Wim Wenders and James Mangold.

After he his honored at Oldenburg, Papamichael will begin prep on Payne's upcoming drama Nebraska starring Will Forte and Bruce Dern. 

Less well know is Papamichael's own work as a director, which includes the 2008 horror film From Within and the Greek-set drama Arcadia Lost (2010).

For its retrospective, Oldenburg will screen the world premiere of Papamichael's new film as a director, the comic drama Lost Angeles, in which a homeless ex-con successfully passes himself off as a celebrity photographer. Oldenburg will also screen From Within, Wenders' Million Dollar Hotel, the 1995 drama Unstrung Heroes, which Papamichael shot and actress Diane Keaton directed, and two films lensed by Papamichael and directed by Mangold: Walk the Line and 3:10 to Yuma.

Phedon Papamichael will attend the Oldenburg festival, which runs Sept. 12-16, and present his films to the audience there.