Philippe Rousselot

Who is Philippe Rousselot?

Philippe Rousselot is a French director of photography.

Rousselot was born in Briey, Meurthe-et-Moselle, France. After having studied cinema at l'École Louis Lumière, he graduated in 1966 with, among others, François About, Eduardo Serra, Noël Very, and Jean-François Robin. He began as an assistant to Nestor Almendros, then quickly emerged as chief operator, leading to his career. He collaborated, in particular, with Jean-Jacques Beineix, Alain Cavalier, Jean-Jacques Annaud, Robert Redford, Stephen Frears, Patrice Chéreau, Bertrand Blier, and Tim Burton on Planet of the Apes, Big Fish, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

He won the 1992 Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work on A River Runs Through It and earned three César Awards, in 1982 for Diva, in 1987 for Thérèse and in 1995 for Queen Margot.

With Beineix and Diva, he worked successfully to make photographic aesthetics a central element of the filming process, developing a photographic light "effect" and creating a timeless, almost unreal atmosphere, which would become his trademark as in the films of Bertrand Blier. He tried to achieve this effect in 1997 with The Serpent's Kiss.