BBLIFF Caleb Deschanel, ASC with 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award for Cinematography

Caleb Deschanel, ASC has blazed a non-traditional career path. He was born in Philadelphia, where he lived until his family moved to Annapolis when he was 11 years old. Deschanel was a dedicated still photography hobbyist during his youth.

He was a photographer for the school newspaper and yearbook during his student years at John Hopkins University. After his interest in filmmaking was sparked by a French New Wave Film Festival, Deschanel transferred to USC. He began his career shooting 16 mm industrial films during his undergraduate years.

Deschanel continued his education at the American Film Institute. His
off-campus mentors included Haskell Wexler, ASC and Gordon Willis, ASC, who he apprenticed with for six weeks. Deschanel earned his first cinematography credit for a feature length film in 1979 for The Black Stallion. He has earned Academy Award nominations for cinematography for The Right Stuff in 1983, The Natural in 1984, Fly Away Home in 1996, The Patriot in 2000 and The Passion of Christ in 2004.

His peers in the American Society of Cinematographers presented the 2010 ASC Lifetime Achievement Award to Deschanel in recognition of the seminal role that he has played in the evolving art of cinematography.

Deschanel took his first turn at the helm on a feature length film when he directed The Escape Artist in 1982. He returned to directing with Crusoe in 1989 and has directed a number of television shows (Law and Order, Twin Peaks, Bones). In addition, Deschanel has directed and shot countless television commercials, and a few rock videos.

The BBLIFF will present Mr. Deschanel with the Lifetime Achievement Award for Cinematography at the opening night gala event beginning at 6:00 p.m., Friday, September 17, 2010 at the Performing Arts Center in Big Bear Lake, CA 92315. Tickets can be purchased via the festival’s website www.bigbearlakefilmfestival.com or by calling (909) 866-4970.