Behind numerous successful and award-winning works are Lebanese artists, directors, architects, doctors, and other professionals who are striving in their fields, and making Lebanon proud through their careers.
In recent years, many Lebanese actors, directors, and cinematographers have been taking the world of filmmaking by storm with their innovative approach. Among them is Christopher Aoun.
Born in Beirut, the Lebanese-German Christopher Aoun started his career studying cinematography at the University of Saint Joseph (USJ) before pursuing his studies at the University of Television and Film (HFF) Munich.
After starting his ever-growing career, he was recognized many times for his work. He won the German Cinematography Award in 2019 and was among the 10 Cinematographers to Watch by Variety.
Aoun was also acknowledged as a Rising Star of Cinematography by the American Cinematographer magazine and became a member of the prestigious Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science.
The Lebanese-German cinematographer has lensed Philippe Aractingi’s “Listen” and Lebanese Nadine Labaki’s hit movie “Capernaum,” which won a Cannes Grand Prix du Jury and was an Oscar-nominated film.
Christopher Aoun has also worked on dozens of commercials and music videos for renowned artists around the world, namely for the American singer Selena Gomez, the French-English singer Lou Doillon, and the British singer Rina Sawayama.
In 2020, his work The Man Who Sold His Skin, which was directed by Kaouther Ben Hanias, premiered at the renowned Venice Film Festival where it won the Orizzonti Award for Best Actor.
The film was also nominated at the 93rd Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film and earned him his second nomination for the German Cinematography Award.
His recent film Co-Pilot, which was directed by Anne Zohra Berrached, also premiered at the 2021 Berlinale.
In 2022, Christopher Aoun made headlines for the German Netflix Original historic series, The Empress, directed by Florian Cossen and produced by Sommerhaus.
The series is about the famous Elizabeth Bayern (1854-1898) who became the unexpected empress of Austria, entering a world of tensions and intrigue at the Viennese court, and will come to make an impact with her own rebellious and empathic character.
The series comes seven decades after the famous film adaptation of Elizabeth’s life, the Sissi trilogy, starred by Romy Schneider.
The Empress has just started streaming on Netflix on September 29th and is a few steps from becoming a hit.
Here’s the trailer:
