Anna Foerster

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Anna Foerster
Born1971 (age 53–54) [1]
Germany
Occupation(s) Cinematographer, television director, film director
Years active1994–present

Anna J. Foerster (born 1971) is a German-born American film and television cinematographer and director. She is best known for pioneering the use of the ARRI Alexa camera system.

Contents

Career

As a second unit cinematographer, Foerster worked on the films Alien Resurrection (1997), Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (2002), Johnson Family Vacation (2004), The Day After Tomorrow (2004), Æon Flux (2005) and 10,000 BC (2008), also working as a second unit director on the latter four films. [2]

She was the cinematographer for the visual effects and/or miniature unit on Independence Day (1996), Godzilla (1998), Pitch Black (2000) and Stuart Little 2 (2002). [2]

As a director, she directed five episodes of the television series Criminal Minds , an episode of its spin-off Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, three episodes of Unforgettable , and four episodes of the Starz series Outlander . [2]

In 2008, she was reported to be developing Secret Hunter, based on the Ranulph Fiennes novel The Secret Hunters (2002). [3]

She served as director of photography on Anonymous (2011) and White House Down (2013). On Anonymous, she was one of the first directors to use the ARRI Alexa camera system, using a prototype provided by ARRI. [4] [5]

Foerster made her feature film directing debut with the action horror film Underworld: Blood Wars (2016).

In 2016, J. J. Abrams and his production company Bad Robot hired Foerster to direct Lou , a thriller about a mother trying to recover her abducted child. [6] Lou would release in 2022.

Filmography

Film

As Cinematographer
YearTitleNotes
2011 Anonymous Winner of Lola for Best Cinematography.
2013 White House Down
As Director
YearTitleNotes
2016 Underworld: Blood Wars feature directorial debut
2022 Lou

Television

YearTitleEpisode(s)
2009-2011 Criminal Minds "Cold Comfort"
"The Uncanny Valley"
"Reflection of Desire"
"With Friends Like These..."
"From Childhood's Hour"
2011 Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior "Strays"
2011-2012 Unforgettable "Trajectories"
"Heartbreak"
2012 Army Wives "The War at Home"
2014-2015 Outlander "The Wedding"
"Both Sides Now"
"Wentworth Prison"
"To Ransom a Man's Soul"
2015 Madam Secretary "Face the Nation"
2018 Jessica Jones "AKA Start at the Beginning"
2019 Carnival Row "Kingdoms of the Moon"
"The Joining of Unlike Things" [a]
2020 Westworld "Genre"
2024 Dune: Prophecy "The Hidden Hand"
"In Blood, Truth"
"The High-Handed Enemy"

References

  1. ↑ Co-directed with Thor Freudenthal
  1. ↑ Iain Blair (February 13, 2012). "Foerster: Gives Shakespeare a modern edge". Variety . Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 "Renaissance Woman: Anna J Foerster". HD Magazine. August 16, 2011.
  3. ↑ Mitchell, Wendy (May 19, 2008). "Anna J Foerster to direct Secret Hunter". ScreenDaily.
  4. ↑ Lehane, Scott (2013-06-21). "Foerster and Emmerich Choose Codex on White House Down - M&E - Media and Entertainment". mande.net. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  5. ↑ Fice, Alex. "Renaissance Woman: Anna J Foerster". Definition. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  6. ↑ Sneider, Jeff (Nov 29, 2016). "Exclusive: J.J. Abrams hires 'Outlander' director Anna Foerster for thriller 'Lou'". Mashable.
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