In a move that surprised most in attendance at the 24th Annual American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Outstanding Achievement gala, the top honor for feature film competition went to Christian Berger, AAC, who shot The White Ribbon, a B&W

Berger accepts for The White Ribbon

film directed by Michael Haneke. Berger is also up for an Academy Award for Best Achievement in Cinematography. Also claiming top prizes at the ASC Awards were Alar Kivilo, ASC, CSC, who won the television movie/miniseries award for Taking Chance and Eagle Egilsson, who won in the episodic category for Dark Blue (“Venice Kings”).

Berger’s win for The White Ribbon was a surprise given the competition he was up against: Barry Ackroyd, BSC for The Hurt Locker, Dion Beebe, ASC, ACS for Nine, Mauro Fiore, ASC for Avatar and Robert Richardson, ASC for Inglourious Basterds. I personally thought Ackyroyd was favored to win, although the oft-nominated Richardson was another top runner. This award was presented to Berger by actor Timothy Dalton.

The other nominees in the Television Episodic Series/Pilot Category were Jeffrey Jur, ASC for FlashForward (“The Gift”), Michael Price for Ugly Betty (“There’s No Place Like Mode”), Christian Sebaldt, ASC for CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (“Family Affair”), and Glen Winter, CSC for Smallville (“Savior”). The award was presented to Egilsson by Amanda Righetti, actress in The Mentalist. Nominated along with Kivilo in the Television Movie/Miniseries category were Rene Ohashi, ASC, CSC for Jesse Stone: Thin Ice and Jerzy Zielinski, ASC for The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler. This award was presented to Kivilo by actor Ryan O’Neal.

Other highlights of the evening included Morgan Freeman, who was presented with the Board of Governors Award by Tom Stern, ASC. The Board of Governors Award is presented to an individual in recognition of their contributions to the art of filmmaking. Stern was cinematographer for both Million Dollar Baby, the movie that earned Freeman an Oscar for his performance and, this year, for Invictus. Freeman collected his sixth Oscar nomination this year for his portrayal of Nelson Mandela.

A particularly touching event was the presentation of the ASC Lifetime Achievement Award to Caleb Deschanel, ASC by his daughters Zooey and Emily Deschanel. Deschanel’s daughters fondly remembered their father’s indefatigable focus on getting the shot as well as his parenting skills. For his part, Deschanel noted that he was brought up a Quaker to shun the limelight and then delighted the audience with a self-deprecating, charming speech.

Cinematographer Chris Menges, ASC, BSC was honored with the ASC International Award, presented by the ever-sardonic actor Tim Roth. The Career Achievement in Television Award was presented to John C. Flinn III, ASC by Michael O’Shea, ASC. Another filial moment was the presentation of the ASC Presidents Award to Sol Negrin, ASC by his son Michael Negrin, ASC, in recognition of his accomplishments as a cinematographer, and for his ongoing commitment to preparing the next generation for the future.

ASC always recognizes the best in up-and-coming cinematographers, and presented the ASC Richard Moore Student Heritage Award to graduate student Benji Bakshi of the American Film Institute, and undergrad Garrett Shannon from Loyola Marymount University.