Stephen Campanelli and Andrew Mitchell claimed top honors in the two competitive categories at the 2012 Society of Camera Operators (SOC) Annual Lifetime Achievement Awards celebration in the Leonard H. Goldenson Theater at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences on Feb. 19.
Campanelli won Feature Film Camera Operator of the Year for J. Edgar and Mitchell won Television Camera Operator of the Year for his work on Glee.
Campanelli was previously nominated for Hereafter in 2011 and The Changeling in 2009. The other nominees in the feature film category were Will Arnot (The Help), Mitch Dubin (Warhorse), Peter Rosenfeld (Cowboys and Aliens), and P. Scott Sakamoto (The Defendants).
Mitchell’s win for Glee marked his first nomination in the category. The other nominees in the Television category were Grayson Austin (Memphis Beat), Greg Collier (Bones), Simon Jayes (True Blood), and Chris Tufty (The Closer).
Earlier in the night, Campanelli presented the SOC Board of Governors Award to four-time Academy Award winner Clint Eastwood in recognition of his contribution to the art and craft of filmmaking, his vast body of work and his respect for the many contributions that a camera operator brings to every production. Eastwood and Campanelli have worked together on every Eastwood film from Bridges of Madison County to J. Edgar –a collaboration lasting over 18 years.
The SOC Lifetime Achievement Award for Camera Operating was given to Paul Babin. Known for working with top directors such as Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Barry Levinson and James Cameron, Babin added his technical and artistic contributions to an array of films including The Abyss, Always, Fearless, True Lies, The Rainmaker and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
The SOC’s celebration of the camera operator’s vital role on the set now begins at the college level. With its first College Camera Operator of the Year award, the SOC took the lead in honoring student productions that utilize a full time camera operator. The SOC honored Petr Cikhart (American Film Institute) for his work on The Skull Cap.
Utah Leaders and Locals Rally To Keep Sundance Film Festival In The State
With the 2025 Sundance Film Festival underway, Utah leaders, locals and longtime attendees are making a final push — one that could include paying millions of dollars — to keep the world-renowned film festival as its directors consider uprooting.
Thousands of festivalgoers affixed bright yellow stickers to their winter coats that read "Keep Sundance in Utah" in a last-ditch effort to convince festival leadership and state officials to keep it in Park City, its home of 41 years.
Gov. Spencer Cox said previously that Utah would not throw as much money at the festival as other states hoping to lure it away. Now his office is urging the Legislature to carve out $3 million for Sundance in the state budget, weeks before the independent film festival is expected to pick a home for the next decade.
It could retain a small presence in picturesque Park City and center itself in nearby Salt Lake City, or move to another finalist — Cincinnati, Ohio, or Boulder, Colorado — beginning in 2027.
"Sundance is Utah, and Utah is Sundance. You can't really separate those two," Cox said. "This is your home, and we desperately hope it will be your home forever."
Last year's festival generated about $132 million for the state of Utah, according to Sundance's 2024 economic impact report.
Festival Director Eugene Hernandez told reporters last week that they had not made a final decision. An announcement is expected this year by early spring.
Colorado is trying to further sweeten its offer. The state is considering legislation giving up to $34 million in tax incentives to film festivals like Sundance through 2036 — on top of the $1.5 million in funds already approved to lure the Utah festival to its neighboring... Read More