
Focus On Cinematography: Jimpa and Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake)
Film Interviews
As the Sundance Film Festival 2025 celebrates another year of innovative storytelling, we hear a lot about the directors, but it’s the cinematographers who really put the picture in “motion picture.” Matthew Chuang and Marcus T. Patterson are two of the many gifted cinematographers whose work has been showcased this year.
Chuang, known for his evocative work on Blue Bayou and You Won’t Be Alone, brings his distinct style to Jimpa, a story of intergenerational connections and queer identity set in Amsterdam. Chuang’s use of the ARRI Alexa 35 and vintage Cooke Speed Panchros lenses lends the film a layered visual identity. “We shot with the Alexa 35 as our main camera,” Chuang explains. “The lenses we had were the Cooke Speed Panchros. There’s, like, two versions that we used. The main set for our present timeline was the Series 2 and Series 3, which are lenses from the 1960s. They have this beautiful quality on faces and a quite soft feel. For our flashbacks, we used the Series 1 version, which is from the 1920s to ’30s. They flare up quite easily and have a lot of character, creating a different look.”
Chuang and director Sophie Hyde drew upon the works of Nan Goldin, a photographer and activist known for her work capturing the bohemian LGBTQ+ subculture in the 1980s during the height of the AIDS crisis, using her photos as a visual reference point for the style they wanted to capture. Inspired by Goldin’s dating innovation, Chuang and his team experimented with some unconventional techniques to evoke memory and emotion. “We were doing things like taping cling wrap to the lens or using Vaseline on a filter,” Chuang says. “It’s all about invoking that sense of memory or trying to capture the essence of a moment emotionally. Sometimes, it’s not about precision, but about how it feels in that moment.” The different eras in which the story takes place, as well as shifting points of view, required some creative variations in order to vary the imagery and set the time for a particular sequence. “We could change between a portrait, POV or a glimpse from someone else’s point of view,” Chuang says. “Sometimes it’s specific to a time frame, other times it’s emotional. The way it’s cut into the film, with moments appearing at specific beats, takes each scene to a whole new kind of depth.”
Patterson, who hails from Birmingham, Alabama, brings his extensive experience and love of the outdoors to Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake), an anthology film directed by Sierra Falconer. Using the ARRI Alexa Mini LF with Masterbuilt Soft Flares and an Angénieux 25-250 HR lens, Patterson embraced the natural beauty of Green Lake Township, Michigan, while crafting three interwoven stories. The film’s climactic drone shot almost didn’t happen. “I think the final shot of the film scared the hell out of us because we didn’t have another way to end the movie,” Patterson recalls. “There was no plan B. We wanted each story to reference the next one or the one before it, but never revisit. So if the drone shot didn’t work, we were stuck. It turned out to be a happy accident.”
Initially, the drone shot was meant to be a simple reveal of the Sunfish. “We intended to start with a close-up and pull straight up to show the Sunfish,” Patterson says. “But there was heavy tree cover above her, and we couldn’t fly the drone as planned. The only clear spot was about thirty feet away. So we adjusted, and the way it pulls back and leaves her feeling really alone ended up being perfect. It wasn’t the original intention, but it worked beautifully.”
Despite their different styles and projects, Chuang and Patterson share a deep commitment to storytelling through visuals. Both films explore themes of connection and identity, with the cinematography playing a crucial role in immersing the audience. “Every choice, whether it’s a lens, a location or even a happy accident, is about serving the story,” Patterson says. “That’s what makes this work so rewarding.”
Chuang is no stranger to Sundance, though he couldn’t attend the festival in Park City for the premiere of You Won’t Be Alone in 2022 because the entire program was done virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s really exciting to be here,” Chuang says. “I think it’s every filmmaker’s dream to be here at Sundance and have their film shown.”
As both Jimpa and Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake) have earned a great deal of praise for their breathtaking visuals, Chuang and Patterson have left Sundance audiences with images that will last forever, boldly and beautifully illuminated on the silver screen and in the mind’s eye.
Read more of SLUG’s coverage of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.