American Cinematographer - April 2007 - 91

Joshua

Cinematographer:
Benoit Debie

Director:

Parents'

George Ratliff
fears

worst

are

chill¬

ingly realized in Joshua, a nerve-jan¬
gling drama that earned Benoit
Debie this year's Excellence in
Cinematography prize in Sun¬
dance's Dramatic Competition.
All

seems

the

meet

well when

Cairns,

we

first

prosperous

Manhattanites who

enjoy all the
city's perks. Sam (Sam Rockwell) is a
Wall Street broker at the top of his
game, which allows his wife, Abby
(Vera Farmiga), to serve as a stay-athome mom in the couple's luxuri¬
ous apartment near Central Park.
Their precocious son, Joshua (Jacob
Kogan), is a piano prodigy who
attends a posh private school. But
when Abby gives birth to a baby girl,
a
strange tension descends on the

beginning, I was more interested in
still photography than movies. I was
fascinated by things like the ambi¬
ence of the city at night or at dawn.
But after that, I began to learn about

household. The infant bawls

cinema."

at

all

hours, sending Abby into an emo¬
tional tailspin. As Sam tries to cope,
he

bSLDSFPAeeiacoprocaTocthsuntrluiiOygxrdfntts..esy
Whilden,

bJophoyts
Joshua

begins to notice that Joshua's
increasingly odd behavior seems
linked to a series of unsettling inci¬
dents, including the sudden death of
the family dog. After Abby suffers a

40. "In the

Evidently, Debie was a quick
study. After graduating from IAD, he
logged two years as a camera assis¬
tant before advancing to the rank of
director of photography on televi¬

was

Debie, the Sundance prize

welcome addition

a

Eurocentric

resume.

to

his

A native of

Belgium, he earned the 2004 Best
Cinematography Award at the
Stockholm Film Festival for the fea¬
ture

Innocence, and

was

nominated

Joseph Plateau Award (Best
Belgian Cinematography) for the
a

background, he can adapt very
quickly to things that happen during
a shoot. That was
good, because we
shot the film in just 25 days! If we
didn't have time to shoot everything
we had planned for a
day, he was able
to change course very quickly. It was
also a nice partnership in other ways.
tary

Some directors don't like to have

provocative French director Gaspar
Noe, who subsequently hired Debie
to help him shoot the controversial
2002 feature Irreversible

April '03). Debie

(see AC

he was excited
an envelope¬
pushing director on a daring picture.
"It was not an easy project, but it was
my type of movie," he asserts. "I def¬
initely like that kind of edgy look
to start

his

says

career

with

on

his craft

at

the Institut des Arts de

Diffusion (IAD)

began

my

in Belgium. "I

studies there when I

was

work.

to

"My collaboration

Debie's

with

tormented
mother (Vera

Farmiga) in
scene

a

from

Joshua. This
page: The boy's
father (Sam

Rockwell)
becomes

increasingly
concerned about
his son's actions
in the wake of

a

sibling's

was

about the material. "I have

children of my own, so

I could
really relate to this type of story.
FFowever, I thought it would be a dif¬
ficult film to make unless they found
a very
good kid to play Joshua. It's not
easy to find really good child actors.
Fortunately, Jacob is very talented; he
learned fast and was very precise
about everything to do with his char¬
acter. He didn't play the piano when

French thrillers led him

mainly in Europe, so it's nice
prize in the U.S."
The cinematographer learned

home-movie

footage of his

impressed with the
script, but had some practical

concerns

two

he

a

assesses some

birth.

film's

opportunity to create a distinctive
visual style with an adventurous
partner. The film's director, George
Ratliff, is a former documentary
filmmaker whose appreciation for

win

Opposite: Joshua
(Jacob Kogan)

new

Debie

Sundance award," he enthuses. "I've

Joshua also offered Debie the

to

say."

and director."

to

a

tive and interested in what I had

thriller Calvaire (a.k.a. The Ordeal).
"I'm really upbeat about the
worked

interesting," Debie

Plus and

short films that drew the attention of

For

was very

submits. "Because of his documen¬

sion shows for French channel Canal

breakdown, Sam is forced

horrifying consequences.

George

huge cooperation with the cine¬
matographer, but he was very atten¬

confront the situation head-on,

with

for

now

Belgian channel RTL TVI.
During that period, he shot some

nervous

to

21," notes Debie,

was

some

cast

in the role, but he took

lessons, and within

he could

a

few weeks

actually play the main

song
that's featured in the movie. That
allowed

the

always show his hands
keys."
To give Joshua an ominous
us

to

American

Cinematographer 91
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