»As a young woman, finding a male mentor who can open up new avenues to you is still easy. But when you get to 40, or definitely by 50, the mentoring system no longer works for you as a woman. At these ages, men have already been a part of well-functioning networks promoting their careers for a long time. Women, though, usually find themselves shut out of these networks, and plenty of them just disappear from the scene as a result.« – Christine A. Maier, 2014

Sophie Maintigneux, two-time German Camera Award winner, asks her colleague and companion Christine A. Maier if she can do a second interview with her, twelve years after the first. Maier is anything but off the radar in terms of her career. She has built a reputation as one of the best cinematographers in the world. What has changed since the start of her career? What role do changes in technical aspects play? What challenges exist in production, and how do they influence the creative process and the resulting screen images? Cropping and working with light and shadow are vital for what we end up seeing on screen. Staging and camera work determine our view of the world. Regarding cinematography, the posture and attitude, point of view and movement, decisions and appetite for risk forge the visual dramaturgical concept of a film. Drawing from the examples of real films, this workshop discussion addresses on-set experiences and real career reports from the film world as well as ethical and film policy topics.