Autumn Durald

Autumn Cheyenne Durald Arkapaw (née Durald; born December 14, 1979) is an American cinematographer. For her work on the film Sinners, she became the first woman of color to be nominated, 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 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 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 2009 Macho Rafael Palacio Illingworth 2011 Guadalupe the Virgin Victoria Giordana 2013 Palo Alto Gia Coppola 2015 One & Two Andrew Droz Palermo2018 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 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 2021 Loki Kate Herron Season 1 2023 The Kick of Destiny Mike Warzin 3 episodes

Music videos Year Title Artist Director 2013 "Desert Days"HaimTabitha 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 BrothersAnthony Mandler "Power Is Power" SZAThe WeekndTravis Scott 2022 "Lift Me Up" Rihanna Herself

Accolades

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

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