Produced by Kathleen Kennedy, who today serves as Chair of the American Film Institute’s Board of Trustees, and shot by AFI Alum Janusz Kamiński (AFI Class of 1987), THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY (2007) was honored in the year of its release with an AFI AWARD in 2007, recognizing it as one of the year’s most outstanding achievements in the art of the moving image. According to the official rationale, “THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY is a soaring cinematic achievement, one where the transportive nature of film takes us inside the mind of a paralyzed protagonist. Director Julian Schnabel astounds in his fusion of poetry, humor and profound humanity to examine the struggle from inside the mind as the character reaches for the impossible. Janusz Kaminski’s brilliant cinematography illuminates the film’s commanding point of view, visually enveloping the audience in the deeply emotional, but remarkably unsentimental screenplay by Ronald Harwood. Adapted from an extraordinary true story, the film challenges us to look into a mirror, appreciate the fragility of our own lives and marvel at the power of the mind.”
Visit the AFI Catalog to learn more about THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY.
