The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work on one particular motion picture.
Melonie Diaz is an American actress who has appeared in many independent films, including four shown at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. She received Independent Spirit Awards nominations for performances in films A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006) and Fruitvale Station (2013). From 2018 to 2022, she appeared as one of the main roles as Mel Vera on the remake television series Charmed on The CW.
Ellen Kuras is an American cinematographer whose work includes narrative and documentary films, music videos and commercials in both the studio and independent worlds. One of few female members of the American Society of Cinematographers, she is a pioneer best known for her work in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). She has collaborated with directors such as Michel Gondry, Spike Lee, Sam Mendes, Jim Jarmusch, Rebecca Miller, Martin Scorsese and more. She is the three-time winner of the Award for Excellence in Dramatic Cinematography at the Sundance Film Festival, for her films Personal Velocity: Three Portraits, Angela and Swoon, which was her first dramatic feature after getting her start in political documentaries.
Maryse Alberti is a French cinematographer who mainly works in the United States on independent fiction films and vérité, observational documentaries. Alberti has won awards from the Sundance Film Festival and the Spirit Awards. She was the first contemporary female cinematographer featured on the cover of American Cinematographer for her work on the Todd Haynes-directed Velvet Goldmine (1998).
Diandrea Rees is an American screenwriter and director. She is known for her feature films Pariah (2011), Bessie (2015), Mudbound (2017), and The Last Thing He Wanted (2020). Rees has also written and directed episodes for television series including Empire, When We Rise, and Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams.
Ryan Kyle Coogler is an American filmmaker. He is a recipient of four NAACP Image Awards and four Black Reel Awards, and has been nominated for two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a Grammy Award.
Bradford Marcel Young, A.S.C is an American cinematographer. He is best known for his work on the films Selma, A Most Violent Year, Arrival (2016)—which earned him a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography—and Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), as well as the Netflix miniseries When They See Us (2019).
Christopher Blauvelt is an American cinematographer, and a third generation film craftsman. Blauvelt started his career in the camera and electrical department under cinematographers Harris Savides, Christopher Doyle and Lance Acord. He continued to work with cinematographer and mentor Harris Savides until his sudden death from brain cancer. Blauvelt's continued work with Kelly Reichardt has garnered him an ICP Nomination in 2010 for his work on Meek's Cutoff and best cinematography at the Valladolid International Film Festival for Night Moves. Blauvelt shot Jeff Preiss' directorial debut Low Down for producers Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa, which won the Dramatic Cinematography award at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.
Svetlana Cvetko is an American cinematographer and film director. She is most notable for being the cinematographer of several critically acclaimed documentaries including: Oscar winning Inside Job (2010), Oscar nominated Facing Fear (2010), and Sundance US Documentary Special Jury Prize-winning Inequality For All (2013). In addition, she was the first cinematographer on films such as Oscar winning OJ: Made In America and Sundance documentary Miss Representation.
Reed Morano is an American film director and cinematographer. Morano was the first woman in history to win both the Emmy and Directors Guild Award for directing a drama series in the same year for the pilot episode of The Handmaid's Tale. Morano is known for her cinematography work on feature films such as Frozen River (2008), Kill Your Darlings (2013) and The Skeleton Twins (2014).
Women are involved in the film industry in all roles, including as film directors, actresses, cinematographers, film producers, film critics, and other film industry professions, though women have been underrepresented in creative positions.
Mudbound is a 2017 American historical drama film directed by Dee Rees. It was written by Rees and Virgil Williams, who based their screenplay on the 2008 novel Mudbound by Hillary Jordan. It stars Carey Mulligan, Garrett Hedlund, Jason Clarke, Jason Mitchell, Jonathan Banks, Rob Morgan, and Mary J. Blige. The film depicts two World War II veterans – one white, one black – who return to rural Mississippi each to address racism and PTSD in his own way. The film premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2017, and was released on Netflix and in limited release on November 17, 2017, to positive reviews.
Thimios Bakatakis is a Greek cinematographer. He has served as a cinematographer for various feature films, short films, music videos, and commercials, often collaborating with director Yorgos Lanthimos on his projects.
Natasha Braier is an Argentinian cinematographer. She resides in Los Angeles, California.
The 32nd American Society of Cinematographers Awards were held on February 17, 2018, at the Hollywood & Highland Ray Dolby Ballroom, honoring the best cinematographers of film and television in 2017.
Dublin Feminist Film Festival (DFFF) is an independent annual event, founded in 2014, to promote and celebrate female filmmakers, and to draw more women to get involved in filmmaking. The festival is non-competitive, and run by volunteers.
Polly Morgan is a British cinematographer who has worked on the studio feature films Lucy in the Sky (2019), A Quiet Place Part II (2020), Where the Crawdads Sing (2022), and The Woman King (2022). She was also the cinematographer for multiple episodes of the TV series Legion (2017–2019). Morgan is accredited by the British Society of Cinematographers (BSC) and the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC). To date, she is the only woman to be a member of both, and she is the youngest member of ASC.
Cynthia Pusheck is an American film and television cinematographer. She co-founded and co-chairs the ASC Vision committee that supports people from under-represented groups who hope to build a career in cinematography. She was the first woman to serve as vice-president of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC).
Zak Mulligan is an American film and television cinematographer. He is best known for his work on Hustle, We the Animals, The Outsider, and Open Heart.
Sam Levy is an American cinematographer. He is best known for shooting the films Lady Bird for director Greta Gerwig, Frances Ha for director Noah Baumbach, Wendy and Lucy for director Kelly Reichardt, Rothaniel for director Bo Burnham, and Mayday for director Karen Cinorre.
