In Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, Mexican filmmaker and expat Silverio Gama (Daniel Gim nez Cacho) undertakes a mind- and time-bending journey of the soul in which he's forced to confront his creative appetites, family history, national identity, mortality and more. The tale is steeped in director and cowriter Alejandro G. I rritu's personal ruminations; to help realize his vision for the movie, I rritu found a deeply sympathetic collaborator in cinematographer Darius Khondji, ASC, AFC. Since Bardo's premiere, Khondji's work has been lauded with a Silver Frog at the EnergaCamerimage International Film Festival and a growing number of award nominations, including from his colleagues in the American Society of Cinematographers.
During preproduction, Khondji turned to Panavision for a lens package that centered around three wide-angle focal lengths from the large-format Sphero 65 series of optics, allowing him to emphasize the actors' presence within the spaces through which they pass. The cinematographer recently reconnected with Panavision to share his experiences on the project.
Panavision: How did Alejandro describe his vision for Bardo?
Darius Khondji, ASC, AFC: Everything started with a series of phone conversations. A friend of his contacted me and told me that Alejandro wanted to reach out about a project he was about to start, and it was quite urgent. So Alejandro called me from Mexico I was in Paris and we started a conversation about this incredible story. What he was telling me was amazing. It was very deep, very personal, and I could tell it was something very meaningful. It was a story that he wanted to tell that was very important to him.
We were getting along really well, and I was already very deeply immersed in the story before he even thought of sending me the script. Then, when I read the script, it was magnificent. I decided immediately, Yes, I will do the film,' and I jumped in a plane to Mexico, and immediately we were looking at locations he already had.
When you began collaborating, were elements like the moving camera, the long takes and the wide-angle perspectives already present in what Alejandro was envisioning?
Khondji: The very fluid, long sequence movements and the use of wide angles was already in him. He really wanted to tell the story this way.
What drew you specifically to the Sphero 65 lenses? What qualities did you see in them that made them a good match for this story?
Khondji: I brought Alejandro the idea of shooting in large-format photography, in digital, to have the actors very present and to map the landscapes around Silverio in a very present way. I was not after definition; I was after presence. I thought it would be the best way to tell the story.
We tested the Sphero lenses, and the 17mm, 21mm and 24mm were great. They were wide-angle, but they were not so distorted. The moment we had the camera at a certain height, the distortion resolved itself. We had doubles of the 17mm, 21mm and 24mm, and we made almost the whole movie with those lenses.
There's no barrel distortion, but the image seems to stretch along the sides of the frame in a way that suggests a time-warp effect.
Khondji: Yes, it's a very good point. It was a time warp. Its not something that we planned, but its something that comes out of the film. Its very good that you pointed that out.
There are echoes of other films that meditate on life and death and artistic ambition movies like Fellinis 8 and Bergmans Wild Strawberries. Were films like these a direct point of reference for you and Alejandro?
Khondji: These are movies that we screened. We screened a very good print of 8 in the cinema of Churubusco with all the crew. But, you know, when you watch a film like 8 , you cannot be really directly inspired. You watch it, you get the feeling of it, and thats all you can take from a great film like 8 or Citizen Kane or Wild Strawberries. Its too strong, too powerful to try to take anything more than the feeling.
But we screened 8 , Wild Strawberries, Songs From the Second Floor and other films like that. We watched parts of Los Olvidados and All That Jazz. There were always people from the crew with us, like [production designer] Eugenio Caballero, [costume designer] Anna Terrazas and [producer] Stacy Perskie. These films were like friends. We brought them along with us, and the film had all of this around it, like little stars sending good messages. That's how I take inspiration. It's just an idea that we brought with us.
Over the years, youve also spoken about the inspiration that you've found in silent cinema. Do you continue to find creative inspiration in silent movies?
Khondji: Yes. Absolutely. I love silent movies. I love black-and-white movies. Most of my inspirations before a movie starts are in black-and-white. I love color very much, but I'm very careful with it because color is something that can influence you very strongly. So you have to be careful with color. But I am influenced by silent movies. They're like friends. Its like going to the Tate Gallery or the Metropolitan Museum. I know these places, but I go there just for a room, just for a place, just to be in front of a Giotto painting.
I never studied history of art or history of cinema. I studied filmmaking in a film school in New York, and I remember going every weekend to the Metropolitan Museum and just spending time in front of paintings. Sometimes I was missing Europe, so I was in front of the impressionists, and I was looking at places that I knew near Paris by the river. Its very beautiful. Inspirations are very important.
With its meditations on life and death and creativity, Bardo is a very heady, emotional movie. What did it mean to you personally to be able to help tell this story?
Khondji: Immediately when I
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
23/01/2026
Staines-upon-Thames, UK, 29 July, 2025 - Yospace, the global leader in Dynamic A...
23/01/2026
Spotify's annual Best New Artist celebration honors the rising stars whose talent, creativity, and dedication have propelled them to the music industry'...
23/01/2026
Paramount is transforming its operations by unifying the media supply chains of their top brands into a scalable global pipeline.
This transformation enhances ...
23/01/2026
Every delay costs. When a subtitle fails QC, even the smallest issue can mean missed deadlines, extra vendor costs, or frustrated teams. The new Accurate.Video ...
23/01/2026
Friday 23 January 2026
Sky appoints Lisa Clark as Commissioning Executive for SNL UK
Lisa Clark headshot
PNG (468KB)
Lisa Clark joins Sky as Commissioning E...
23/01/2026
RT is delighted to announce that the RT and F s ireann / Screen Ireland supported short film Retirement Plan has been nominated for Best Animated Short at th...
22/01/2026
Last November, Ed Sheeran returned to his musical roots for an intimate, one-nig...
22/01/2026
Every delay costs. When a subtitle fails QC, even the smallest issue can mean missed deadlines, extra vendor costs, or frustrated teams. The new Accurate.Video ...
22/01/2026
Rohde & Schwarz, Qualcomm, and Motorola demonstrate successful 5G Broadcast comp...
22/01/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
21/01/2026
Wednesday 21 January 2026
Backing Britain on the global stage: Sky becomes an o...
21/01/2026
Fox Corporation Executives to Discuss Second Quarter Fiscal 2026 Financial Resul...
21/01/2026
Baselight v7 brings colourists and post-houses smarter mattes, faster workflows and deeper control
FilmLight, known for its detailed colour toolset and longsta...
21/01/2026
RT News is pleased to announce the appointment of Jackie Fox as its new Washington Correspondent. Jackie is a multimedia journalist with RT News and has repor...
19/01/2026
Monday 19 January 2026
Sky News reinvents News at Ten for the modern audience with The Wrap
Sky News today announces The Wrap, a bold evolution of its 10pm ou...
19/01/2026
DPA Microphones is striking a new chord in piano miking with the debut of its DPK2015 Piano Stereo Kit, an out-of-the-box, plug-and-play miking solution that ta...
19/01/2026
DPA Microphones will present its 4099 CORE Instrument Microphone and redesigned...
19/01/2026
Trianel relies on Arvato Systems for future-proof data center operations
Moving to the cloud: Arvato Systems implements extensive IT migration project
Migrat...
19/01/2026
Celebrating 21 Years of the RT Choice Music Prize
RT Choice Music Prize
In association with IMRO and IRMA
Irish Album of the Year 2025 - Shortlist Announce...
18/01/2026
January 18 2026, 21:30 (PST) Dolby Cinema Arrives in Bengaluru: Dolby Laborator...
16/01/2026
The start of a new year brings fresh possibilities. Whether you're diving in with big goals or simply setting new intentions, audiobooks can bring inspirati...
16/01/2026
In 2025 we launched the Spotify Partner Program to give creators more ways to tu...
15/01/2026
The SGL Carbon site in Bonn has a long tradition of training. For many years, young talent has been successfully trained here, regularly achieving excellent exa...
15/01/2026
The JEC Composites Innovation Awards annually honor the most innovative and ambi...
15/01/2026
X-energy Reactor Company, LLC ( X-energy ) and SGL Carbon LLC ( SGL ) have signed a 10-year framework agreement to provide graphite for the deployment of X-ener...
15/01/2026
RT is tonight announcing that Mari Hurley has decided to leave her role as RT 's Chief Financial Officer to take up a new position outside RT . Mari will r...
15/01/2026
15 Jan 2026
VEON's Kyivstar Reaches 3.0 million Customers with Starlink Dir...
15/01/2026
Views to free streaming service U grew by 15%, average monthly active users by 23% and registrations by 18%
UKTV's channels achieved record viewing share, ...
15/01/2026
Thursday 15 January 2026
Sky Sports to show Final Stage of inaugural FIFA Women's Champions Cup
Sky and FIFA have agreed an exclusive new partnership whi...
15/01/2026
Thursday 15 January 2026
The official trailer for the second season of Seth Mac...
15/01/2026
Wuppertal January 15, 2026
Riedel RefCam Takes Center Court in German Basketba...
15/01/2026
Arvato Systems Named Launch Partner for AWS European Sovereign Cloud
As a launch partner for the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, Arvato Systems enables customer...
14/01/2026
Staines-upon-Thames, UK, 13th January, 2026 - ITV, one of the UK's leading broadcasters, has selected Yospace, the global leader in Dynamic Ad Insertion (DA...
14/01/2026
Steiger Media's adoption of Calrec's compact Argo M console not only makes its innovative new hybrid truck faster, more efficient, and agile, but also e...
14/01/2026
Press Release: The Boston Globe Names Cartesian a Top Place to Work in 2025
January 14, 2026
News
Cartesian - January 14, 2026 - EINPresswire.com - Sp...
14/01/2026
Comscore and Marcus Theatres Announce Five-Year Extension for Cinema ACE and Ent...
14/01/2026
Comscore and Santikos Entertainment Announce Five-Year Circuit Wide Commitment t...
14/01/2026
Wednesday 14 January 2026
Sky News announces Cathy Newman to lead flagship new political programme
Sky News today announces that award-winning journalist and ...
14/01/2026
The first stamp of An Post's 2026 Stamp Programme, marking 100 Years of Broadcasting, was unveiled at the GPO by Patrick O'Donovan TD, Minister for Cult...
14/01/2026
It's official! Beverley Callard has landed in Carrigstown. The beloved actor, known for her unforgettable roles and iconic screen presence, is joining the c...
13/01/2026
Independent media in Brazil and Colombia is facing an urgent crisis of traditional business models alongside a deteriorating security environment, according to ...
13/01/2026
Some days you want your music to reflect a specific feeling, memory, or vibe that goes beyond a single artist or genre. You want to do more than listen. You wan...
13/01/2026
Luxembourg, December 17, 2025 - SES S.A. ( SES or the Company ), a leading spa...
13/01/2026
Written and executive produced by Steve Lightfoot and Angela LaManna, produced b...
13/01/2026
New updates to Hitmaker Expansion from Celemony and Softube Edit pitch-perfect vocals with Melodyne Essential and get radio-ready guitar tones from Softube...
In Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, Mexican filmmaker and expat Silverio Gama (Daniel Gim nez Cacho) undertakes a mind- and time-bending journey of the soul in which he's forced to confront his creative appetites, family history, national identity, mortality and more. The tale is steeped in director and cowriter Alejandro G. I rritu's personal ruminations; to help realize his vision for the movie, I rritu found a deeply sympathetic collaborator in cinematographer Darius Khondji, ASC, AFC. Since Bardo's premiere, Khondji's work has been lauded with a Silver Frog at the EnergaCamerimage International Film Festival and a growing number of award nominations, including from his colleagues in the American Society of Cinematographers.
