DP Autumn Durald Arkapaw ASC has become the first woman to win the Academy Award for best cinematography, taking the prize for Sinners at the 98th Academy Awards.
The cinematographer, who previously collaborated with director Ryan Coogler on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, is also the first woman of colour to receive the award. She is only the fourth woman ever nominated in the category.
Previous nominees include Rachel Morrison for Mudbound, Ari Wegner for The Power Of The Dog, and Mandy Walker for Elvis.
Accepting the award, Durald Arkapaw thanked Coogler for his support and collaboration. “Thank you for believing in me and thank you for trusting me. That’s the kind of guy I get to make films with,” she said. She also invited the women in the audience to stand, adding that she would not have reached the stage without them.
Sinners
Durald Arkapaw ASC also made technical history on Sinners, becoming the first female cinematographer to shoot using both IMAX 65mm and Ultra Panavision formats.
In the category, she beat fellow nominees Darius Khondji AFC ASC for Marty Supreme, Michael Bauman for One Battle After Another, and Adolpho Veloso for Train Dreams. Ahead of the ceremony she had already collected several critics’ awards and earned nominations from the BAFTA Film Awards, Critics Choice Awards and the American Society of Cinematographers.
Sinners led this year’s nominations with 16 in total, including best picture, best director for Coogler and best actor for Michael B. Jordan. Additional acting nominations went to Wunmi Mosaku and Delroy Lindo, alongside recognition across craft categories including production design, costume design, editing, sound, visual effects and original score.
