Autumn Durald Arkapaw created history at the Academy Awards by becoming the first woman to win the Oscar for Best Cinematography for her work on Sinners. The milestone also makes her the first woman of colour to receive the honour in the category.
Arkapaw, who is of Filipino and African American Creole descent, achieved the breakthrough in a category that has historically seen very few women recognised. Before her win, only three women had ever been nominated for Best Cinematography: Rachel Morrison for Mudbound (2018), Ari Wegner for The Power of the Dog (2021), and Mandy Walker for Elvis (2022).
Her work on Sinners has been widely praised not only for its visual style but also for its technical ambition. Arkapaw also made history as the first female cinematographer to shoot on IMAX 65mm and Ultra Panavision for the film.
In the Best Cinematography category, Arkapaw was nominated alongside Adolpho Veloso (Train Dreams), Michael Bauman (One Battle After Another), Dan Laustsen (Frankenstein), and Darius Khondji (Marty Supreme).
Sinners also marked Arkapaw’s second collaboration with director Ryan Coogler, after previously working together on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Sinners had a major presence at the Oscars this year, setting a record with 16 nominations. The film was recognised across multiple categories, including Best Picture, Director, Actor (Michael B. Jordan), Supporting Actress (Wunmi Mosaku), Supporting Actor (Delroy Lindo), Original Screenplay, Production Design, Costume Design, Film Editing, Sound, Visual Effects, Original Score, and Original Song for I Lied to You.
