Autumn Durald Arkapaw

Autumn Durald Arkapaw
Arkapaw in 2025
Born
Autumn Cheyenne Durald

(1979-12-14) December 14, 1979 (age 46)
Oxnard, California, U.S.
EducationLoyola Marymount University (BA)
American Film Institute Conservatory (MFA)
OccupationCinematographer
Years active2007–present
Spouse
​
(m. 2015)​
Children1
AwardsAFI Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal (2026)
Websiteautumndurald.com

Autumn Cheyenne Durald Arkapaw ASC (née Durald; born December 14, 1979) is an American cinematographer. For her work on the film Sinners (2025), she became the first woman of color to be nominated for, and the first woman and first Black person to win, an Academy Award for Best Cinematography. On television, she received a nomination at the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards for Outstanding Cinematography for her work on the Loki episode "Lamentis" (2021).

Early life and education

Arkapaw was born Autumn Cheyenne Durald in Oxnard, California, grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, and is of Filipino descent on her mother's side and Black Creole on her father's side. The Filipino side of her family is Catholic. She has described her maternal grandfather, Guillermo Pagan Bautista of Pampanga, who was a resistance fighter during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines and a survivor of the Bataan Death March, "the most important man in my life" and "one of the biggest influences on my childhood and my family". She has a tattoo of her grandfather’s initials, in Baybayin script, on her wrist.

Arkapaw graduated from San Ramon Valley High School in Danville, California in 1996. She graduated in 2002 from Loyola Marymount University where she studied art history. She graduated from the AFI Conservatory's cinematography program in 2009.

Career

After graduating from college, Arkapaw worked in advertising and later as a camera assistant on films. In 2019, she was invited to join the Cinematographers Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In 2022, she became a member of the American Society of Cinematographers.

Arkapaw shot the 2025 film Sinners on 65 mm film using a combination of IMAX 15-perf and Ultra Panavision 70 cameras, which made her the first female director of photography to shoot any movie on large format IMAX film. For her work on Sinners, she became the first woman of color (Arkapaw is of Filipino and Black Creole descent) to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography. She won the award at the 98th Academy Awards, becoming the first woman, first black person, and first Filipina to win in the category.

Arkapaw was awarded the AFI Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal at the 2026 AFI Life Achievement Award Gala.

Personal life

Arkapaw married Australian cinematographer Adam Arkapaw in 2015. They have one child.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Director Refs.
2009 Macho Rafael Palacio Illingworth
2011 Guadalupe the Virgin Victoria Giordana
2013 Palo Alto Gia Coppola
2015 One & Two Andrew Droz Palermo
2018 Untogether Emma Forrest
Teen Spirit Max Minghella
2019 The Sun Is Also a Star Ry Russo-Young
2020 Mainstream Gia Coppola
2022 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Ryan Coogler
2024 The Last Showgirl Gia Coppola
2025 Sinners Ryan Coogler

Television

Year Title Director Notes Refs.
2007 On the Road in America Jerome Gary Episode "New York"
2010 Portraits of Braddock Aaron Rose Documentary film
2016 Untitled Sarah Silverman Project Charlie McDowell TV movie
2018 Jimmy Returns, The 2018 Oscars Paul Feig TV short
2019 Aziz Ansari: Right Now Spike Jonze Stand-up comedy
2020 Beastie Boys Story Spike Jonze TV documentary
2021 Loki Kate Herron Season 1
2023 The Kick of Destiny Mike Warzin 3 episodes

Music videos

Year Title Artist Director Refs.
2013 "Desert Days" Haim Tabitha Denholm
"Falling"
"Strong" London Grammar Sam Brown
"Hearts Like Ours" The Naked and Famous Campbell Hooper
"Lovers in the Parking Lot" Solange Knowles
"Primetime" Janelle Monáe Alan Ferguson
"Overdose" Little Daylight Campbell Hooper
2014 "Ashley" Big Sean Ellis Bahl
"Wasted" Tiësto Tabitha Denholm
"You're Not Good Enough" Blood Orange Gia Coppola
2015 "Porno" Arcade Fire Kahlil Joseph
2019 "Sucker" Jonas Brothers Anthony Mandler
"Power Is Power" SZA
The Weeknd
Travis Scott
2022 "Lift Me Up" Rihanna Herself

Accolades

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result Refs.
2022 Black Reel Awards Outstanding Cinematography Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Nominated
Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (One Hour) Loki Nominated
Visual Effects Society Awards Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a CG Project Nominated
2025 New York Film Critics Circle Awards Best Cinematography Sinners Won
National Board of Review Awards Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography Won
2026 Academy Awards Best Cinematography Won
Black Reel Awards Outstanding Cinematography Won
British Academy Film Awards Best Cinematography Nominated
British Society of Cinematographers Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature Film Nominated
Critics' Choice Awards Best Cinematography Nominated
National Society of Film Critics Best Cinematography Won
American Society of Cinematographers Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography Nominated
American Film Institute AFI Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal N/a Honored

Listicles

Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement
Publisher Year Listicle Placement Ref.
IndieWire 2014 On the Rise: Cinematographers to Watch Included
Variety Cinematographers to Watch Included
Below the Line Impact Report: Up Next Included

References

  1. ↑ "Autumn Durald Arkapaw". The Talks. October 22, 2025.
  2. ↑ Strauss, Bob (May 15, 2025). "'Sinners' is back in IMAX. Fans have this Bay Area cinematographer to thank". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 Carpio, Audrey (February 27, 2026). "Autumn Durald Arkapaw Reflects on Her History-Making Year". Vogue Philippines. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  4. 1 2 Ryzik, Melena (March 16, 2026). "Autumn Durald Arkapaw Makes History as First Woman to Win Best Cinematography". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  5. ↑ Nepales, Ruben V.; nrueda (February 20, 2026). "Fil-Am cinematographer on her historic Oscars nod and Filipino roots". INQUIRER.net USA. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  6. ↑ "San Ramon Valley High School - Alumni Directory". srvhs.srvusd.net.
  7. ↑ Lyman, Jeanita (March 18, 2026). "'Your hometown is cheering you on': Danville-raised filmmaker scores Oscar for 'Sinners'". Danville San Ramon. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  8. 1 2 "Rock the Tribes meets Cinematographer Autumn Cheyenne Durald. | Rock the Tribes". Archived from the original on May 21, 2014. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  9. ↑ Bernstein, Paula (April 23, 2014). "'Palo Alto' DP Autumn Durald On Being a Female Cinematographer". IndieWire. Archived from the original on March 1, 2017.
  10. ↑ "ACADEMY INVITES 842 TO MEMBERSHIP". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. July 1, 2019. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  11. ↑ Williams, David E. (July 29, 2022). "ASC Welcomes Autumn Durald Arkapaw as a New Member". American Society of Cinematographers. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  12. ↑ Desowitz, Bill (March 12, 2025). "20 Movies Shot on Film in 2025: Separate Safdie Brothers, Paul Thomas Anderson, and More". IndieWire. Archived from the original on March 12, 2025. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  13. ↑ Ryzik, Melena (March 3, 2026). "The 'Sinners' Cinematographer Says They 'All Had a Lot on the Line'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  14. ↑ VanHoose, Benjamin (April 3, 2025). "Michael B. Jordan Has Fans Seeing Double with Stylish Twin Stunt at Sinners Premiere". People. Archived from the original on June 9, 2025. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
  15. ↑ Desowitz, Bill (April 19, 2025). "Autumn Durald Arkapaw Is the First Woman DP to Shoot in IMAX — with 'Sinners,' It's 65mm on Steroids". IndieWire. Archived from the original on January 30, 2026. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  16. ↑ Tangcay, Jazz (January 22, 2026). "'Sinners' DP Autumn Durald Arkapaw Makes Oscar History as First Woman of Color Nominated for Best Cinematography". Archived from the original on January 23, 2026. Retrieved January 22, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Sinners Autumn Durald Arkapaw becomes first woman to win cinematography Oscar". Los Angeles Times. March 16, 2026. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  18. ↑ Tangcay, Jazz (March 16, 2026). "'Sinners' DP Autumn Durald Arkapaw Makes Oscar History as First Woman to Win Best Cinematography". Variety. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  19. ↑ Davis, Clayton (March 16, 2026). "Oscars Postmortem: Paul Thomas Anderson's Six-Month Reign, Ryan Coogler's Historic Platform for Black Women and How Timothée Chalamet Lost the Race". Variety. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  20. ↑ "Oscar-Nominated Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw to Receive American Film Institute's 32nd Annual Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal". American Film Institute. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
  21. ↑ Tapley, Kristopher (January 5, 2016). "Ryan Coogler on 'Creed,' Filmmaking as Journalism and the Need for Female Voices (Q&A)". Variety. Archived from the original on January 6, 2016.
  22. ↑ "Autumn Durald Arkapaw (@addp) • Instagram photos and videos". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  23. ↑ Purnell, Kristofer. "Meet the Filipino-American cinematographer of 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever'". Philstar.com.
  24. ↑ "Haim "Falling" (Tabitha Denholm, Dir.)". VideoStatic. February 20, 2013. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  25. ↑ "London Grammar "Strong" (Sam Brown, dir.)". VideoStatic. July 26, 2013. Archived from the original on October 30, 2016. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  26. ↑ "The Naked And Famous "Hearts Like Ours" (Campbell Hooper, dir.)". VideoStatic. July 30, 2013. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  27. ↑ "Solange "Lovers In The Parking Lot" (Solange, Peter J. Brant, Emily Kai Bock, dir.)". VideoStatic. September 18, 2013. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  28. ↑ "Janelle Monáe f/ Miguel "Primetime" (Alan Ferguson, dir.)". VideoStatic. October 11, 2013. Retrieved April 10, 2025.[dead link]
  29. ↑ "Little Daylight "Overdose" (Campbell Hooper, dir.)". VideoStatic. December 4, 2013. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  30. ↑ "Big Sean "Ashley" (Ellis Bahl, dir.) [NSFW]". VideoStatic. February 3, 2014. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  31. ↑ "Tiesto f/ Matthew Koma "Wasted" (Tabitha Denholm, dir.)". VideoStatic. April 28, 2014. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  32. ↑ "Blood Orange "You're Not Good Enough" (Gia Coppola, dir.)". VideoStatic. June 9, 2014. Archived from the original on March 3, 2020. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  33. ↑ "Arcade Fire Announce "The Reflektor Tapes" Film with "Porno" Video (Khalil Joseph, dir.)". VideoStatic. July 16, 2015. Archived from the original on December 4, 2017. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  34. ↑ "Jonas Brothers "Sucker" (Anthony Mandler, dir.)". VideoStatic. March 4, 2019. Archived from the original on June 4, 2023. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  35. ↑ "SZA, The Weeknd, Travis Scott "Power Is Power" (Anthony Mandler, dir.)". VideoStatic. May 6, 2019. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  36. ↑ "Rihanna "Lift Me Up" (Autumn Durald Arkapaw, dir.)". VideoStatic. October 31, 2022. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  37. ↑ Complex, Valerie (December 16, 2022). "Black Reel Awards Nominations Announced For 23rd Annual Ceremony; 'The Woman King' And 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' Lead With 14 Nominations". Deadline. Archived from the original on December 16, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  38. ↑ "Emmys 2022: Cinematography Nominees on How They Shot the Year's Best Shows". IndieWire. August 11, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  39. ↑ Giardina, Carolyn (January 18, 2022). "'Dune' Leads Visual Effects Society Awards Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  40. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 2, 2025). "New York Film Critics Circle: 'One Battle After Another' Takes Best Film; Panahi, Moura, Madigan Among Winners".
  41. ↑ Davis, Clayton (December 3, 2025). "National Board of Review Winners 2025: 'One Battle After Another' Dominates With Best Film, Director, Three Acting Prizes". Archived from the original on December 3, 2025. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
  42. ↑ Aranda, Hyacinth (March 16, 2026). "Autumn Durald Arkapaw Wins Best Cinematography at the Oscars". Vogue Philippines. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  43. ↑ Pedersen, Erik (December 18, 2025). "'Sinners' Dominates With Record 21 Black Reel Awards Nominations". Deadline. Archived from the original on December 23, 2025. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  44. ↑ "Bafta film awards 2026: the full list of winners". The Guardian. February 22, 2026. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  45. ↑ Dalton, Ben. "'Sinners', 'One Battle After Another' among British Society of Cinematographers nominees". Screen. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  46. ↑ Nordyke, Kimberly (January 5, 2026). "Critics Choice Awards: Full Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 5, 2026. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  47. ↑ Schwartz, Missy (January 3, 2026). "'One Battle After Another' Wins Best Film, Director From National Society of Film Critics". TheWrap. Archived from the original on January 17, 2026. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  48. ↑ Tangcay, Jazz (January 8, 2026). "'Sinners' and 'Train Dreams' Among American Society of Cinematographers Nominees". Variety. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  49. ↑ Hammond, Pete (April 19, 2026). "Eddie Murphy Receives AFI Life Achievement Award In Star-Studded Ceremony With Laughs And Heart". Deadline. Retrieved April 20, 2026.
  50. ↑ The Playlist Staff (August 6, 2014). "On The Rise 2014: Cinematographers To Watch". The Playlist. Archived from the original on March 1, 2015.
  51. ↑ Doperalski, Daniel (February 13, 2014). "Variety's 10 Cinematographers to Watch". Variety. Archived from the original on February 14, 2014.
  52. ↑ Variety Staff (July 29, 2014). "Below the Line Impact Report – Up Next". Variety. Archived from the original on August 2, 2014.