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MillimeterWomen in Film Tabs Tami Reiker for Kodak Vision Award
Jun 9, 2005 10:44 AM
Cinematographer Tami Reiker will be feted when Women in Film presents Fusion, the 2005 Crystal + Lucy Awards: An Evening Celebrating Partnership. The award will be held in Beverly Hills at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Friday, June 10. She will receive the Kodak Vision Award for Cinematography, which is presented to a woman who has made significant contributions to advancing the art form.
Reiker was previously recognized for her talent in 2004 when she became the first woman to win an Outstanding Achievement Award in the annual American Society of Cinematographers competition. She received the ASC honor for her work on the pilot of HBO's Carnivale. In 1998, Reiker also earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination for shooting High Art.
Reiker, who was born and raised in Connecticut, discovered still photography during her teens and began taking portraits of friends and family. Reiker processed and printed her own pictures in a home darkroom. After high school, she enrolled at New York University (NYU) as a film major with a minor in photography.
"I quickly fell in love with filmmaking," Reiker says. "While directing my own student film, I found myself drawn to visual storytelling as a cinematographer. I was a production intern on Forever, Lulu. Diana Pokorny was the location manager and Lisa Rinzler was the cinematographer. That's when I realized that a woman could succeed as a director of photography."
After graduation, Reiker worked as a film loader and camera assistant on low-budget movies, commercials, and music videos. She bought a 16 mm camera that enabled her to practice her craft and experiment while shooting films for students at Columbia University and NYU. By the early 1990s, Reiker was a go-to cinematographer for music videos and commercials for blue chip sponsors.
She has worked on videos with such front-line performers as David Bowie, Sheryl Crow, and Tracy Chapman, and has photographed commercials around the world with cutting-edge directors, including Gillespie. Reiker's impressive list of film credits also includes Pieces Of April, The Love Letter, Girl, and Far Harbor.
Reiker is currently shooting Mr. Woodcock, a New Line comedy directed by Craig Gillespie. The film features Susan Sarandon, Seann William Scott, and Billy Bob Thornton, who plays a high school gym teacher wooing a former student's mother.
Kodak has been a supporter of Women In Film since its inception. "We believe it is important to encourage diversity as part of our commitment to investing in the future of the industry," says Kathy Mazza of Kodak's Entertainment Imaging division.
The Kodak Vision Award honoree is chosen by her peers based on her body of work. Previous recipients of the award are Carolyn Chen, Roxanne diSanto, Pauline Heaton, CSC, Ellen Kuras, ASC, Rinzler, Nancy Schreiber, ASC, Sandi Sissel, ASC, and Amelia Vincent, ASC.
For more information, visit www.kodak.com/go/motion or www.wif.org.
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