When the Oscars were handed out this year, Autumn Durald Arkapaw etched her name into film history. The cinematographer behind Sinners became the first woman — and the first woman of color — to win the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, marking a milestone for one of Hollywood’s most technically demanding categories.
Taking the stage to accept the honor, Durald Arkapaw acknowledged the path carved by other women who helped make the moment possible. “I’m so honored to be here,” she said during her speech, according to The New York Times, before asking for a visible show of support inside the room. “I really want all the women in the room to stand up because I feel like I don’t get here without you guys.”
The win came after she had already made history earlier in the awards cycle as the first woman of color ever nominated in the category.
Durald Arkapaw also became the first woman to shoot a feature in large-format IMAX, often operating the 65-pound camera herself.
The scale of the project was ambitious from the beginning. Durald Arkapaw previously said she was initially told only a few details about the film when Coogler shared the script.
“I knew it was a period piece. I knew it was personal,” she recalled.
Once she read it, the scope expanded beyond expectations, weaving together blues-inspired memories, vampires, and a sweeping cultural timeline. The filmmakers drew visual inspiration from Depression-era photographs by Southern writer Eudora Welty to shape the film’s visual tone.
The collaboration between Coogler and Durald Arkapaw developed through earlier work together, including Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Coogler later described their working rhythm as seamless, saying the trust between them felt “like gravity.”
Cinematographer Rachel Morrison — who made history herself as the first woman nominated for the Oscar in the category — had recommended Durald Arkapaw for the role when she was unavailable. Morrison described her as “technically proficient” and “deeply empathetic,” adding that she trusted Durald Arkapaw to protect the director’s vision.
Durald Arkapaw’s path to the industry wasn’t straightforward. Raised in the Bay Area by a Filipino mother and a father of Black Creole heritage, she initially studied art history before shifting toward filmmaking.
Early setbacks included rejections from film schools and skepticism from agents, even as she built a résumé that eventually included music videos, independent films, and major projects like Loki.
She later graduated from the American Film Institute and continued to build momentum in both television and film.
Family history also shaped her approach to Sinners, which was filmed in the American South. With relatives connected to the region — including a paternal aunt who appeared as an extra — the setting carried personal meaning. “You think about your ancestors and what they felt like on that land,” she said.