NEWS: MSPIFF’s 45th Year Honors – Twin Cities Arts Reader

Dean Cundey, ASC behind the camera.

The Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival returns April 8-19 with a spotlight on one of Hollywood’s most influential visual storytellers. Legendary cinematographer Dean Cundey will receive the festival’s Milgrom Tribute, honoring a career that helped shape the look of modern genre filmmaking. This is MSPIFF’s 45th year.

Cundey’s dynamic lens work powered classics from Halloween and Escape from New York to Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and Jurassic Park. His celebrated collaborators include directors such as John Carpenter, Robert Zemeckis, Steven Spielberg, and Ron Howard.

Named for festival founder Al Milgrom, the Milgrom Tribute recognizes artists whose work elevates cinema’s craft. Past honorees include Roger Deakins and Ang Lee.

The celebration includes a public conversation with Cundey, legacy screenings of Escape from New York and Jurassic Park, and a lively Industry Night gathering—an opportunity for audiences and filmmakers alike to celebrate the artistry behind the camera at the heart of great movie magic.

Dean Cundey, ASC is the recipient of this year’s Milgrom Tribute.

“We are thrilled to honor master cinematographer Dean Cundey, whose work has inspired generations of filmmakers and entertained audiences throughout the word,” said MSPIFF Programming Director Jesse Bishop. “His ability to blend technical innovation with dynamic visual storytelling has made him one of the most influential cinematographers in film history.”

The Milgrom Tribute consists of Legacy screenings and MSPIFF’s Industry Night, where filmmakers, crew members, and film-lovers gather to celebrate the craft of filmmaking in an inspiring night of social events. The Conversation with Dean Cundey on Sunday, April 12 at 4pm, followed by the Industry Happy Hour, offering audiences a rare opportunity to hear firsthand about Mr. Cundey’s creative process and his decades-spanning career. His Legacy screenings include two of his most iconic films: Escape From New York on Saturday, April 11, and Jurassic Park on Saturday, April 12, which showcase the breadth of his artistry and the technical mastery that has defined his career. All of these events are presented in partnership with CineMechanics and sponsored by Cufflinks.com.

MSPIFF45 FILM INDUSTRY NIGHT: A Conversation with Dean Cundey, ASC
Sunday, April 12 • 4:00pm • DeLaSalle High School, Minneapolis

This ticketed event is open to the public and includes a conversation with Mr. Cundey on his decades-spanning career and mastery of the craft of cinematography. Moderated by fellow cinematographer

Ferguson Sauvé-Rogan. Tickets are $20 for MSP Film Members, $25 General Public, $15 Students.

FILM INDUSTRY HAPPY HOUR

Sunday, April 12 • 5:00pm • MSPIFF45 Headquarters • 65 SE Main Street, Minneapolis
Following the Cundey Conversation, we invite you to mix and mingle with our Guest of Honor and the Minnesota film industry-at-large at MSPIFF Headquarters, located in the former Pivo Riverplace space. A screening of Jurassic Park follows at 6:30pm, or you can keep the party rolling at MSPIFF45 HQ!

MILGROM TRIBUTE: DEAN CUNDEY LEGACY SCREENINGS

ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK

Saturday April 11 • 9:30pm • The Main Cinema • 115 SE Main Street, Minneapolis
In this dystopian thriller set in a future where Manhattan has become a maximum-security prison, the
U.S. President is taken hostage and former soldier/criminal Snake Plissken (Kurt Russel) has 24 hours to
rescue him. Navigating violent gangs and treacherous terrain, Snake relies on his toughness to survive.

JURASSIC PARK + Q&A with Dean Cundey, ASC

Sunday April 12 • 6:30pm • The Main Cinema • 115 SE Main Street, Minneapolis
Wealthy entrepreneur John Hammond (Sir Richard Attenborough) invites various experts (Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neil) to preview his island theme park, where living dinosaurs roam. When systems fail due to sabotage, the creatures escape, turning wonder into terror.

The 45th Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival takes place April 8 – April 19 at The Main Cinema in Minneapolis and the Edina Theater, with additional screenings at The Capri in North Minneapolis, FilmNorth and Landmark Center in St. Paul, and Pop’s Art Theater in Rochester.

Visit MSPIFF.org for the complete MSPIFF45 lineup and schedule.

MSPIFF45 Industry Night events are presented in partnership with CineMechanics, a premier digital cinema and video production camera rental house based in MN, and sponsored by Cufflinks.com. MSP Film Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to exhibiting the very best in independent and international cinema and creating meaningful cinematic experiences for the Twin Cities community year-round. Through MSPIFF and its year-round programming at The Main Cinema and The Capri, MSP Film connects audiences with films and filmmakers that inspire conversation, expand perspectives, and celebrate the art of storytelling.

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Amy Donahue

Amy Donahue is a staff reviewer at the Twin Cities Arts Reader. She interned with the magazine during the summer of 2017, served as a guest contributor while studying abroad in Europe that fall, and has moved up to regular old reviewing. She served as interim Editor-in-Chief in 2023.

She admits to being at least 50% terrified of contemporary German opera.