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| Autumn Durald Arkapaw, right, might be making history at the Oscar awards. |
When the lights go up for the 98th Academy Awards today, all eyes in the Asian American community will be on Autumn Durald Arkapaw.
The cinematographer for Ryan Coogler’s Southern Gothic epic Sinners isn’t just capturing ghosts on screen — she’s busting through some of Hollywood’s thickest glass ceilings.
As a mixed-heritage Filipino American (her mother is Pinay and her father is African American/Creole), Durald Arkapaw just became the first woman of color — and the first Filipino American — to snag an Oscar nod for Best Cinematography.
Groundbreaking tech, personal roots
On Sinners, she went big—literally. She’s the first woman to serve as DP on a feature shot entirely on IMAX 65mm. But for Autumn, the Mississippi setting wasn't just a backdrop; it was a homecoming. With her father’s family hailing from New Orleans and Mississippi, she’s spoken about the deep emotional resonance of filming in the South. She even managed to get her paternal aunt into the film as an extra, rooting the high-concept supernatural thriller in real family history.
Autumn is known for being "craft-first," but she doesn't shy away from the weight of her identity. In various interviews throughout this awards season, she’s touched on what it means to be "the first."
She often stresses that while being a "female cinematographer" or a "minority DP" are labels the industry focuses on, her goal is to make the work so undeniable that those labels become secondary to her talent.
She has expressed a quiet pride in showing younger Filipino American and Black filmmakers that the "technical" side of the house—the world of heavy cameras and complex lighting — is a place where they belong.
Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, she keeps her private life low-key. Howeveer, she carries that classic FilAm drive. Whether it’s the moody, neon-soaked halls of Loki or the vast, haunting landscapes of Sinners, her "eye" is a blend of her art history background and a heritage that spans two cultures known for their resilience and storytelling.
Future collaboration
Following the success of Sinners, Durald Arkapaw is set to reunite with Ryan Coogler once again for a reboot of The X-Files at Hulu, starring Danielle Deadwyler. She is scheduled to lens the pilot episode, which begins shooting in Vancouver in April 2026. And the pair are discussing working on Black Panther 3.
From the Bay Area to the AFI Conservatory to the Dolby Theatre, Autumn Durald Arkapaw is proving that our stories look better when we’re the ones controlling what and how we see.
More than 10 years ago, Arkapaw made "Variety’s 10 Cinematographers to Watch" list. Today the cameras will be on her.
In an interview with "Variety‘s" Awards Circuit Podcast, she says, “You dream about those things. It’s a dream come true,”
EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge.
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