Adam Arkapaw

Adam Arkapaw
Born
Bowral, New South Wales, Australia
OccupationCinematographer
Years active2001–present
Spouse
​
​
(m. 2015)​
Children1
Websitewww.arkapaw.com

Adam Arkapaw is an Australian cinematographer. He received recognition for his work on the first series of Top of the Lake (2013) and True Detective (2014), for which he received two Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

Early life and education

Arkapaw was born in Bowral, a New South Wales town south of Sydney, and attended Bowral High School. He studied at the University of Melbourne's Victorian College of the Arts, graduating in 2006 with a Bachelor of Film and Television.

Career

In addition to numerous short films, Arkapaw photographed three Australian features over the next several years: Animal Kingdom (2010), Snowtown (2011), and Lore (2012). He received a nomination for the AACTA Award for Best Cinematography in 2010 for his work on Animal Kingdom and in 2011 he was named one of Variety magazine's "10 Cinematographers to Watch".

Arkapaw next worked on Jane Campion's television miniseries Top of the Lake, which was filmed in New Zealand and broadcast in 2013. That year he won a Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries or Movie. In 2014 he won his second Emmy Award, for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series, in recognition of his work on the HBO television series True Detective. True Detective was filmed in Louisiana and Arkapaw's cinematography received wide praise, especially for a six-minute single-take long take that was planned over months and took one and a half days to film.

Arkapaw was the cinematographer of the 2015 film Macbeth, directed by Justin Kurzel, with whom Arkapaw previously worked on Snowtown. He also photographed McFarland, USA, an American sports film released in 2015, and the drama film The Light Between Oceans. He collaborated with Kurzel for a third time on the action-adventure film Assassin's Creed, which was released in the United States in December 2016.

Personal life

Arkapaw is married to American cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw. They have one child.

Arkapaw played cricket for the Royal Park Reds in the summer 2005–06 season. He was deemed Best on Ground in their grand final match against Pascoe Vale United after scoring 65 (not out) and 52 in each innings and taking a total of seven wickets.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Director Notes
2009 Blind Company Alkinos Tsilimidos
2010 Animal Kingdom David Michôd
2011 Snowtown Justin Kurzel
2012 Lore Cate Shortland
2015 McFarland, USA Niki Caro
Macbeth Justin Kurzel
2016 The Light Between Oceans Derek Cianfrance
Assassin's Creed Justin Kurzel
2019 Light of My Life Casey Affleck
The King David Michôd
2024 The Order Justin Kurzel
2025 Magazine Dreams Elijah Bynum
2026 Company Casey Affleck
2027 Kockroach † Matt Ross Post-production

Television

Year Title Director Notes
2013 Top of the Lake Jane Campion
Garth Davis		 7 episodes
2014 True Detective Cary Joji Fukunaga Season 1
2015 Flesh and Bone David Michôd Episode "Bulling Through"
2024 Masters of the Air Cary Joji Fukunaga 4 episodes

Awards and nominations

Award Year Category Title Result Refs.
AACTA Awards 2012 Best Cinematography Snowtown Nominated
2013 Lore Nominated
2014 Best Cinematography in Television Top of the Lake Won
2015 Byron Kennedy Award Won
2019 Best Cinematography The King Won
ASC Awards 2015 Spotlight Award Macbeth Won
Australian Film Institute Awards 2006 Outstanding Achievement in Short Film Screen Craft End of Town Nominated
2010 Best Cinematography Animal Kingdom Nominated
British Independent Film Awards 2015 Best Technical Achievement Macbeth Nominated
Manaki Film Festival Silver Camera 300 Won
Creative Arts Emmy Awards 2013 Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited or Anthology Series Top of the Lake Won
2014 Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series True Detective Won
Stockholm International Film Festival 2012 Best Cinematography Lore Won

References

  1. 1 2 Friend, David (11 February 2011). "Adam Arkapaw: Modus operandi is understated". Variety. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  2. 1 2 Bailey, John (2 March 2014). "Let the good films roll". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Adam Arkapaw wins second Emmy Award". University of Melbourne. 26 August 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  4. 1 2 Bodey, Michael (16 September 2013). "Emmy for Australian cinematographer Adam Arkapaw". The Australian. Archived from the original on 21 April 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  5. ↑ Friedlander, Whitney (5 August 2014). "How Cinematographer Adam Arkapaw Captured 'True Detective'". Variety. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 Milber, J. (29 November 2022). Adam Arkapaw, Australian Cinematographer, National Film and Sound Archives. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  7. ↑ Rocchi, James (4 February 2015). "'McFarland, USA' Review: Kevin Costner Goes the Distance in This True-Life Sports Tale". TheWrap. Archived from the original on 6 October 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  8. ↑ Kohler, Chris; Muncy, Julie. "Not a Gamer? Here's What the Assassin's Creed Film Trailer Means". Wired. Conde Nast. Archived from the original on 12 June 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  9. ↑ Tapley, Kristopher (5 January 2016). "Ryan Coogler on 'Creed,' Filmmaking as Journalism and the Need for Female Voices (Q&A)". Archived from the original on 6 January 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  10. ↑ Autumn Arkapaw [@addp]; (6 September 2021). "My boy | Aedan". Archived from the original on 4 December 2022 – via Instagram.
  11. ↑ "Royal Park Reds Cricket Club". Royal Park Reds. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  12. ↑ "Play Cricket". play.cricket.com.au. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  13. ↑ "Play Cricket". play.cricket.com.au. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  14. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (15 September 2013). "HBO, 'Behind The Candelabra' Lead Creative Arts Emmy Awards; Bob Newhart, Dan Bucatinsky, Melissa Leo, Carrie Preston, Heidi Klum & Tim Gunn, 'Undercover Boss', 'South Park' & Tony Awards Among Winners". Deadline. Archived from the original on 17 August 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  15. ↑ "Emmys 2014: Jimmy Fallon, Uzo Aduba lead Creative Arts winners list". Los Angeles Times. 17 August 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2026.