“Sinners” DP Autumn Durald Arkapaw has made history. She is the first woman to ever win the Oscar for best cinematography. Arkapaw, who is of Filipino and African American Creole descent, is now also the first woman of color to win.
In the history of the category, only three women have ever been nominated: Rachel Morrison in 2018 for “Mudbound,” Ari Wegner in 2021 for “The Power of the Dog” and Mandy Walker in 2022 for “Elvis.” Arkapaw also made history as the first female cinematographer to shoot on Imax 65mm and Ultra Panavision for “Sinners.”
In the lead-up to the Oscars, Arkapaw was nominated at the BAFTAs, British Society of Cinematographers and American Society of Cinematographers, and she missed every pre-cursor going into Oscar night — but she prevailed.
She was nominated alongside Adolpho Veloso (“Train Dreams”), Michael Bauman (“One Battle After Another”), Dan Laustsen (“Frankenstein”) and Darius Khondji (“Marty Supreme”).
“Sinners” marked her second collaboration with Coogler after the two shot “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” Last year, she told Variety. “We support each other. I’ve learned how to read the story through [Ryan’s] eyes, to understand what he needs to tell it and what is important to him.”
One of the most talked-about scenes in “Sinners” is the “piercing the veil” sequence. “At first this sequence is grounded in reality and then turns into a surreal moment in which the camera goes up to the roof and burns away, then comes back down into a wonderful fire exterior shot which transitions into the introduction of three strong characters, and then you’re back into the film,” she explained.
“Sinners” broke an all-time Oscar record with 16 nominations. It received nods for best picture; director; actor (Michael B. Jordan); supporting actress (Wunmi Mosaku); supporting actor (Delroy Lindo); original screenplay; casting; production design; cinematography; costume design; film editing; makeup and hairstyling; sound; visual effects; original score; and original song for “I Lied to You.”
Love Film & TV?
Get your daily dose of everything happening in music, film and TV in Australia and abroad.
See the full winners list here.
From Variety US