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The 46th edition of the International Cinematographers’ Film Festival Manaki Brothers opened in Bitola with a seven-day program celebrating the artistry of cinematography across feature films, documentaries, and shorts films. Founded in 1979 and named after Balkan cinema pioneers Yanaki (1878–1954) and Milton (1880–1964) Manaki, the festival is recognized as the first and oldest event dedicated to the creativity of cinematographers. Alongside its five competitive sections, Manaki’s renowned “Club of Greats” has honored luminaries including Sven Nykvist, Vittorio Storaro, and Roger Deakins, underscoring the festival’s role as a touchstone for the craft.
Within this context, and following a week of screenings and juried deliberations, Michael Cong was honored with the Small Camera 300 for Best Cinematography in a Short Filmat the 46th Manaki Brothers International Cinematographers’ Film Festival for his work on When the Geese Flew (dir. Arthur Gay). The recognition affirms Cong’s command of the medium and his ability to shape a psychologically precise visual language that serves performance, environment, and story in equal measure. The festival’s award roster culminates in the Golden Camera 300 for Best Cinematography, with recent honorees including Darius Khondji (2025), Bruno Delbonnel (2024), Anthony Dod Mantle (2022), Christian Berger (2021), and a Special Golden Camera 300 presented to Wally Pfister (2025); against this backdrop, the Small Camera 300 places Cong’s achievement within a distinguished lineage of contemporary cinematography.
When the Geese Flew follows Cyrus, who, in a desperate bid to prevent his older sister from leaving home, attempts to recover her stolen dirt bike. That emotional and social terrain shaped both the film’s visual grammar and the discipline of its production.
Serving as cinematographer on his fourth collaboration with director Arthur Gay, Cong approached the story with shared sensibilities and a precise, performance-driven methodology. The team chose 16mm Kodak stock for its color response and grain—an aesthetic and operational decision aligned with the film’s raw textures and grounded tone. Working with a finite resource concentrated attention on actors and action rather than the monitor; with a video tap used only as reference, rehearsals were pursued with patience, and the camera rolled only when image, blocking, and performance aligned, ensuring every take advanced the story.
Preparation and immersion were integral to the image design. Cong, Gay, and producer Laura Ganotis arrived in New Zealand three weeks prior to production and spent a dedicated week living and scouting in Twizel. Absorbing the town’s rhythms and meeting residents helped organize the film’s perspective through Cyrus’s eyes. Cong rejects the camera as a neutral observer; within a clearly defined visual framework, he treats the camera as a participant that responds emotionally to what unfolds, allowing truthful shifts in presence, light, and air to register on 16mm.
The recognition affirms the collective craft of the production while underscoring Cong’s authorship as a cinematographer whose choices are inseparable from character and theme. The work privileges care for actors through the camera and builds a visual environment where truthful performances read with clarity—where landscape and portraiture meet, and material film qualities lend weight to memory, consequence, and resolve.
Michael Cong is a Chinese filmmaker based in New York. After extensive work as a cinematographer across narrative films and commercials, he pursued an MFA in Directing at Columbia University to deepen his immersive approach to storytelling. His cinematography has been featured at Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes, the Palm Springs International Film Festival, and AAIFF; his short Windy Days screened at the 2022 ISFVF in Beijing; and Midnight Sun is his first feature. This honor underscores cinematography that is technically exacting, narratively lucid, and anchored in performance—a standard Cong consistently meets.
