Autumn Durald Arkapaw made history Sunday night when she took home the Academy Award for best cinematography in Ryan Coogler’s Southern gothic, genre-bending film “Sinners.”
Arkapaw asked all the women in the room to stand up during her acceptance speech because “I don’t get here without you.”
“I have felt so much love from all the women on this whole campaign and gotten to meet so many people, and I just feel like moments like this happen because of you guys,” she said.
Arkapaw is also the first Black cinematographer to win this award.
Director Coogler and Arkapaw took on an immense task when they decided to make “Sinners” the first film shot entirely in two different large formats: Ultra Panavision 70 and Imax.
Their approach was historic not only because it was the first time these two formats had ever been combined on a feature. It was also the first time a woman cinematographer had shot a feature film in Imax 65 mm — or on any 65 mm film format, according to the American Society of Cinematographers.
“Whenever I say thank you to Ryan, he replies and says, ‘No, thank you.’ Thank you for believing in me, and thank you for trusting me. And that’s the kind of guy that I get to make films with,” Arkapaw said in her acceptance speech.
Only three other women had ever been nominated for cinematography in the history of the Oscars: Rachel Morrison in 2018 for “Mudbound,” Ari Wegner in 2022 for “The Power of the Dog” and Mandy Walker in 2023 for “Elvis.”
Arkapaw previously worked alongside Coogler on the 2022 Marvel film “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”
She is also known for her cinematography work in the films “The Last Showgirl,” starring Pamela Anderson, and “Teen Spirit,” starring Elle Fanning.