Charlotte Bruus Christensen (born 20 March 1978) is a Danish

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

Biography

Born in Denmark, Christensen studied at European Film College in Ebeltoft from 1997 to 1998. She went on to study at the

National Film and Television School The National Film and Television School (NFTS) is a film, television and games school established in 1971 and based at Beaconsfield Studios in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England. It is featured in the 2024 ranking by ''The Hollywood Repo ...

in the UK, where she earned a master's degree in cinematography in 2004. After film school she returned to Denmark where she wrote, directed and shot the 2004 short film '' Between Us''. She worked with director

Thomas Vinterberg Thomas Vinterberg (; born 19 May 1969) is a Danish film director who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, which established rules for simplifying movie production. He is best known for the films '' The Cele ...

on his 2010 drama film '' Submarino''. She was cinematographer for the

Marc Evans Marc Evans (born 1960) is a Welsh director of film and television, whose credits include the films ''House of America'', ''Resurrection Man (film), Resurrection Man'' and ''My Little Eye''. Biography Evans was born in 1960 in Cardiff, Wales. H ...

' 2011 film ''

Hunky Dory ''Hunky Dory'' is the fourth studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released in the United Kingdom on 17December 1971 through RCA Records. Following a break from touring and recording, Bowie settled down to write new songs, composi ...

''. She continued to work with Vinterberg in the 2012 film '' The Hunt''. Her cinematography, shot on

Arri Alexa The Arri Alexa is a digital motion picture camera system developed by Arri. The Arri Alexa was introduced in April 2010 and was Arri's first major transition into digital cinematography, after previous efforts including the Arriflex D-20 and ...

, won her a

Vulcan Award The CST Award for Best Artist-Technician () is an independent film award created in 2003. It rewards the work of a technician for his or her collaboration in the creation of a film from the official selection of the Cannes Film Festival. It is aw ...

and the Bodil Award for Best Cinematographer. Christensen and Vinterberg teamed up a third time for the 2015 film '' Far from the Madding Crowd''. She is known for ability to bring out the female gaze, highlighting the female leads in her films.

Cinematography

A lot of Christensen's work is inspired from the

Dogme 95 Dogme 95 (; Danish for "Dogma 95") was a Danish avant-garde filmmaking movement founded by Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, who created the "Dogme 95 Manifesto" and the "Vows of Chastity" (). These were rules to create films based on the t ...

movement, where the focus is back on the traditional aspects of filmmaking such as stories, characters, and thematic elements. Christensen has spoken on her cinematography work on ''

A Quiet Place ''A Quiet Place'' is a 2018 American post-apocalyptic horror film directed by John Krasinski. The screenplay was written by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods from a story they conceived, with contributions by Krasinski after he joined the project. T ...

'' through numerous interviews. A lot of the visual and tonal inspiration for the film came from other films like '' Jaws'', ''

No Country for Old Men ''No Country for Old Men'' is a 2007 American neo-Western crime thriller film written, directed, produced and edited by Joel and Ethan Coen, based on Cormac McCarthy's 2005 novel. Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin ...

'', and ''

There Will Be Blood ''There Will Be Blood'' is a 2007 American epic film, epic historical drama, period drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, loosely based on the 1927 novel ''Oil!'' by Upton Sinclair. It stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Kev ...

''. The film was shot on 35 mm, like the aforementioned movies. She has talked about how they had to capture images with sound in mind. The closer you are to something, the more little sounds are involved. It was more than just having the camera zoomed in on the subject and more about having the camera physically next to an object or person to catch all the sounds involved. Both Christensen and

John Krasinski John Burke Krasinski (; born October 20, 1979) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his role as Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013), where he was also a producer and occasional director. He directed, co-w ...

, the director, agreed that the film is warm and that those tones should be seen in various pockets- through the season (summer), clothing items, in nature, and elsewhere. She also had the challenge of working with the color red. Since the color is used to signal a warning, its thematic use isn't present until it needs to be; it's in that moment where it holds the most power. Her main goal was to highlight the unheard and unseen through her camera work. In other films like ''

Fences A fence is a barrier enclosing or bordering a field, yard, etc., usually made of posts and wire or wood, used to prevent entrance, to confine, or to mark a boundary. Fence or fences may also refer to: Entertainment Music * Fences (band), an Amer ...

'' and '' The Girl on the Train'', you can clearly see how her cinematography impacts the suspense and intensity of the film. She knows how to highlight the emotions of the characters within the scene, especially lead females where she ensures they're highlighted in the right way.

Filmography

Feature film

Television

TV movie Miniseries

Awards and nominations

* Sue Gibson Award by The NFTS, 2017 * The WIFTS Cinematography Award, 2015 * Robert Nomination, Danish Film Academy 2013 for ''The Hunt'' *

of the Technical Artist at the

2012 Cannes Film Festival The 65th Cannes Film Festival took place from 16 to 27 May 2012. Italian filmmaker Nanni Moretti was the president of the jury for the main competition. French actress Bérénice Bejo hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. Austrian filmma ...

for ''The Hunt'' (''Jagten''), directed by

* Robert Nomination, Danish Film Academy 2010 for ''Submarino'' * Golden Frog Nomination, Camerimage 2010 for ''Submarino'' * Broadcast Young Talent Award 2005 for ''Between Us'' * BSC and Kodak Showcase Cinematographer Award 2005 for ''Between Us'' * Best Cinematography Bulgaria 2004 for ''ISpider''

References

External links

* * Charlotte Bruus Christensen a
Mubi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christensen, Charlotte Bruus Living people Alumni of the National Film and Television School Danish cinematographers Danish women cinematographers 1978 births Best Cinematographer Bodil Award winners