“When I film in North America, it’s usually very conventional. The way Pascal shoots his scenes was completely new for me. It was very interesting. In the same scene, he can shoot some fluid shots with a Steadicam, some rougher images with a hand-held camera, tracking shots with a Dolly, and some totally crazy crane shots. And all that creates a homogenous whole. […] The result is superb. Technically, it shouldn’t be possible, and yet he pulls it off.”
(Kamal Derkaoui discussing the shoot for The Tall Man by Pascal Laugier)
Kamal Derkaoui grew up in Lodz (Poland) where his parents were studying in the Polish National Film School. Being permanently with his father on sets, Kamal developed an early interest in cinema. After he finished high school, he decided to study cinematography and got admitted into one of the most prestigious film schools in the world, the VGIK (Russian Federation State Institute of Cinematography), where he studied under the strict tutelage of Vadim Ioussov, Andreï Tarkovski’s legendary cinematographer. Six years later, in 1994, he graduated with a Master's Degree in Cinematography with honors. Very early in his carrier, and since then, Kamal has been recognized as “experienced, fast, very sensitive to the beauty of light and to composition,” receiving international awards for Best Cinematography in numerous film festivals around the globe.
1993 LE DOUX MURMURE Mostafa Derkaoui – court métrage/short
JE(U) AU PASSÉ Mostafa Derkaoui
1994 DEUX OMBRES Kamal Derkaoui – court métrage/short
LE TRAIN VA Juho Lilya – court métrage/short
1995 CINÉMA IMPÉRIAL Hakim Noury – court métrage/short
LUMIÈRE Omar Chraibi – court métrage/short
SUR LA TERRASSE Farida Benlyazid – court métrage/short
LE MOUCHOIR BLEU Jillali Ferhati – court métrage/short
1996 FABULA Omar Chraïbi – court métrage/short
L’HOMME DE PAILLE Jamal Belmejdoub – court métrage/short
SUPER CAÏD Hakim Noury – court métrage/short
PÊCHEUR Hamid Zoughi – court métrage/short
UN SIMPLE FAIT DIVERS Hakim Noury
1997 SACRÉE SOIRÉE Jamal Belmejdoub – court métrage/short
WOMEN… AND WOMEN (Femmes… et femmes – Nissa... wa nissa) Saâd Chraïbi
1998 LE DERNIER SPECTACLE Nourdine Lakhmari – court métrage/short
DESTIN DE FEMMES Hakim Noury
MABROUK Driss Chouika
1999 COUPABLE Imad Noury – court métrage/short
DIABÉTIQUE Hakim Noury
PLAITS (Tresses) Jillali Ferhati
2000 LE CIMETIÈRE DES MISÉRICORDES Ali Tahiri – court métrage/short
ÉTAT DE SIÈGE H’med Idrissi – court métrage/short
THIRST (Soif – Atash) Saâd Chraïbi
2001 NO SECRETS Imad Noury & Souhail Noury – court métrage/short
MONA SABER Abdelhay Laraki
UNE HISTOIRE D’AMOUR Hakim Noury
2002 FIREFIGHT Paul Ziller
Betraying Reason Lili Schad
2003 SPARE CHANGE Peter Waal – court métrage/short
DRESS TO KILL (Crossing) Roger Larry
Suzuki Speaks – TV, doc
LES AVEUX D’UN PÈRE Jillali Ferhati
LE FIL ROUGE Saâd Chraïbi
La Chambre noire Hassan Benjelloun
2004 Corona Station Steve Rosenberg – court métrage/short
NIGHT AT FEDERICCO Robert Wright – court métrage/short
BEAUTY BOND Tony Papa – court métrage/short
McKIDS J. Kennedy
Seeking FEAR Robin Webb & L. Johnson
JAIL GIRL (Jawhara) Saâd Chraïbi
Spare Change Peter Waal – court métrage/short
2005-2008
ROBSON ARMS – TV
2005 For Want of a Book Tony Papa – court métrage/short
49th and Main – TV
Deux Femmes sur la route Farida Bourquia
The First Russian Vladimir Levin
2006 Alice, I Think – TV
2007 Death in the Forest – TV, doc
WHERE ARE YOU GOING MOSHÉ? (Où vas-tu Moshé ? – Finemachi ya Moché) Hassan Benjelloun
Sex Conspiration (Judicial Indiscretion) George Mendeluk
The Bar Mike Jackson – court métrage/short
SNOW BUDDIES (Les Copains des neiges) Robert Vince
Poison Ivy: The Secret Society – TV
2008 SPACE BUDDIES (Les Copains de l’espace) Robert Vince
SANTA BUDDIES (Les copains fêtent Noël) Robert Vince
2009 Playing for Keeps (Seule face à l'injustice) Gary Harvey
CHRONIQUES BLANCHES Krimo Derkaoui
SANTA PAWS Robert Vince
AT DAWN (Demain dès l'aube) Jillali Ferhati
2010 L'Enfant cheikh Hamid Benani
Andalousie, mon amour ! Mohamed Nadif
ENTRE HIER ET DEMAIN Saâd Chraïbi
TREASURE BUDDIES (Les Copains chasseurs de trésor) Robert Vince
THE TALL MAN (The Secret) Pascal Laugier
2011 Angels Sing Tim McCanlies
RADIO REBEL (Appelez-moi DJ Rebel) Peter Howitt
2012 HOLIDAY SPIN (Une danse pour Noël) Jon Rosenbaum
Twist of Faith Paul A. Kaufman
DANGEROUS INTUITION (Intuition maternelle) Roger Christian
2013 FRONTIERAS Farida Benlyazid
Les Enfants terribles de Casablanca – TV
PILLOW SECRETS (Secrets d’oreiller – Sarirou al assrar) Jillali Ferhati
LUCKY IN LOVE (Ma vie rêvée !) Kevin Fair
2013-2015
CEDAR COVE (Retour à Cedar Cove) – TV
2014 Painkillers Peter Winther
2015 RABID DOGS (Enragés) Éric Hannezo
Kindergarten Cop 2 Don Michael Paul