Sayombhu Mukdeeprom shot Call Me by Your Name almost entirely with natural light, letting the Northern Italian summer do the work. The palette is built on golden hour warmth that seems to last all day — sun-drenched ochres, soft greens from the garden foliage, and the warm terracotta of villa walls. Mukdeeprom used a single 35mm lens for almost every shot, giving the film a consistent intimacy and a shallow depth of field that turns backgrounds into soft impressionist washes. The few interior scenes maintain the warmth through window light and practicals, never breaking the spell of endless summer. For Fujifilm, the challenge is capturing that specific quality of Mediterranean light: warm but not orange, golden but not heavy, with greens that stay lush rather than turning muddy.
Call Me by Your Name looks like one endless summer afternoon. Most of it is lit by the sun, and the camera rarely tries to be dramatic. There are two moods: bright, warm days in and around the villa, and the slower amber evenings in town. Both stay soft and natural — never stylised.
Sun pours through open windows and shutters onto pale walls and wooden floors. Greens from the garden stay fresh, skin is warm and slightly tanned, and highlights are bright without being harsh. The look is gentle and airy rather than contrasty.
Recipe: Villa Summer ↓As the sun goes down, the colour turns amber and the shadows grow longer. Faces are lit by the last daylight and a few warm lamps; everything feels slower and closer. Darker areas keep some warmth instead of turning blue.
Recipe: Evening Piazza ↓Many 'summer film' presets push everything orange. This film's light is warmer than normal, but greens stay green and white walls stay almost white. If your photo looks like a sunset filter, back off the warmth. Shooting with a single 35mm-equivalent focal length — as the film did — also helps more than any colour setting.
Call Me by Your Name's summer sunlight glows gently through windows and foliage. A black mist filter does in camera what no recipe can: it makes highlights bloom and softens contrast slightly, without washing out the blacks. A 1/4 strength is the safe starting point.
The size depends on your lens, not the camera body — pick it on the product page.
| XF 35mm f/2 R WR | 43mm |
| XF 23mm f/1.4 R LM WR | 58mm |
| XF 18mm f/1.4 R LM WR | 62mm |
| XF 56mm f/1.2 R WR | 67mm |
| XF 18-55mm / XF 16-50mm kit | 58mm |
| XF 16-80mm kit (X-T5) | 72mm |
| XC 15-45mm kit (X-S20) | 52mm |
| X100VI (with AR-X100 adapter) | 49mm |
X100VI: the lens has no filter thread, so you need the AR-X100 adapter ring first, then a 49mm filter. Several lenses? Buy one large filter (e.g. 67mm) plus a K&F Concept step-up ring set and use it on all of them.
The recipe handles colour and tone. These handle what a recipe can't.
Bounce low sun back into faces. The gold side adds the honeyed fill these warm recipes are built around.
Rent or stream it tonight, then pause on a frame and shoot it.
The disc carries far more image detail than a stream — worth it for a film you study.
Nostalgic Neg for daytime — its warm, soft rendering suits sunlit interiors and skin. Classic Chrome works better for evening scenes, where you want a bit more density and calmer colour.
The film was shot almost entirely with one 35mm lens on 35mm film. On Fujifilm, a 23mm lens (about 35mm full-frame equivalent) gives the same natural, close perspective.
All settings work on current X-Trans V bodies such as the X-T5, X-S20, X-T50 and X100VI. Nostalgic Neg needs an X-Trans V camera (or the X-H2/X-H2S); on an X-T4, X-S10 or X100V, Classic Neg is the closest substitute. Every body renders slightly differently, so take a few test shots and adjust.
Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, a Thai cinematographer best known for his work with Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Luca Guadagnino directed.