The Oscars are Hollywood’s biggest celebration, and each year they give everyone something to talk about, but we don’t always get to witness history in the making. In their 98th edition, however, we did: Autumn Durald Arkapaw took home the Oscar for Best Cinematography.
California-born Autumn Durald Arkapaw is the cinematographer behind Sinners and has just become the first woman (and the first woman of color) to win the Oscar for Best Cinematography, as well as the first in film history to shoot on IMAX.
The challenging IMAX format
Arkapaw’s work on Sinners is both a historic milestone and technically groundbreaking. She became the first female director of photography to shoot a feature using large‑format IMAX film (IMAX 15‑perf 65 mm), combining that format with Ultra Panavision 70 to craft some of the most visually immersive images of the year.
IMAX film offers an exceptionally large frame and rich detail, making it a favorite for sequences that demand both scale and intimacy. Shooting in this format is notoriously challenging: the cameras are large and loud, and the film stock is expensive and unforgiving, requiring precision from every department.
Autumn Durald Arkapaw’s early years
A native of Oxnard, Durald Arkapaw grew up in the Bay Area and developed an early passion for film and visual storytelling. She studied art history at Loyola Marymount University and later earned an MFA in cinematography from the American Film Institute (AFI), where she refined her visual voice and technical craft.
Over the years, she has worked across genres, from television episodes like Loki (earning an Emmy nomination) to blockbuster films such as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and The Last Showgirl, building a reputation for lush, expressive cinematography.
Her heritage, Filipino on her mother’s side and African American Creole on her father’s, has shaped her perspective and contributes to her place as a role model for aspiring filmmakers from underrepresented backgrounds.
