Definition April 2023 - Web

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TOP TABLE Marar filmed on the award-winning Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon, based 200 years prior to the original series

“I was proud to have been an assistant on a huge Hollywood production, Zero Dark Thirty , back in 2011” been an assistant on a huge Hollywood production, Zero Dark Thirty , back in 2011, and worked with such an important DOP and director. I was proud to have loaded 35mm film on one of my hero’s [Fatih Akin] productions and to have not messed it up.” Marar has also worked on, or as she puts it ‘survived’, documentaries that took her to some of the most inhospitable SHE WHO DARES Fortune favours the brave, and Marar was soon offered a gig in the camera department. She never looked back. Marar instantly adored the buzz of a film set, being involved in the logistics of the department, all the technology around, navigating people and spaces, being part of a machine of creation. “I also loved knowing that I played a part in something people would watch and enjoy – or hate,” she says. “It felt exhilarating, meaningful and challenging. Interestingly, 15 years later that same director called and asked if I would operate on his first feature – which I did. It goes to remind you how small this industry can be.” Fast-forward to 2023 and Marar has a CV that most in the industry would be envious of. However, such is the richness of her career to date, she finds it difficult to choose one project that stands out. “Every project I have worked on is so important to me in different ways, even the bad ones,” she muses. “I was proud to have

places in the world. This includes trying not to get frostbite at -50°C in the Ural Mountains, Russia, in knee-deep snow. Or lugging cameras and trying to avoid getting bitten by bullet ants – ‘look them up, they are no joke’ – in the damp, unforgiving, yet ethereally beautiful Amazonian rainforest in Bolivia. Or fighting brutal sandstorms while connecting with the most soulful people in the deserts of Sudan. “Strangely, the relationships and connections I made on these projects, mostly with people who – due to their remoteness – I will never see or speak to again, are things I will remember fondly for a very long time,” Marar adds. “It shows you a common goal and that shared moments can transcend language and geography.” More recently, she was the cinematographer on a short film that was shot with an exceptional young lady in

SHARP SHOOTING Behind the scenes on House of the Dragon, where Marar worked as a B camera operator

93. APRIL 2023

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