Dean Semler

Dean William Semler is an Australian cinematographer and film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography for Dances with Wolves, and Australian Film Institute Awards for Best Cinematography for Razorback and Dead Calm (1989).

Early life and education Dean William Semler

At the time, there were no film schools in southern Australia, so he had no formal training in photography.

In 1976, he again worked with Dunlop to film the Yolngu Djungguwan ceremony in Arnhem Land. This is an initiation ceremony of the Rirratjingu and Marrakula clans taking several weeks, designed to teach young boys about discipline as well as respect for Yolngu law and traditions. The resulting film, entitled Djungguwan at Gurka’wuy, has been preserved at the National Film and Sound Archive.

1980s Semler was cinematographer on Stepping Out, in 1980. The film was a documentary feature directed and produced by Chris Noonan, about a group of intellectually disabled people who give a performance at the Sydney Opera House.

Semler was the cinematographer on the film Hoodwink (1981) with a screenplay by Ken Quinnell, and in the same year, for Mad Max 2 (1981), which led to international attention for his work. He followed up on Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985). Semler was also a cinematographer for the acclaimed Australian miniseries Bodyline (1984). In the late 1980s, Semler was the cinematographer for several popular films, such as Cocktail (1988), and Young Guns (1988).

1990s In 1989, Semler was hired as cinematographer for Kevin Costner's Dances with Wolves (1990), for which he won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography.

He is an accredited member of both the Australian Cinematographers Society and the American Society of Cinematographers.

Awards and nominations

Filmography

Feature films Director Firestorm (1998) The Patriot (1998)

Cinematographer

Documentary film Year Title DirectorNotes 1980 Stepping Out Chris Noonan 1983 In Memory of Mawalan Ian Dunlop About Mawalan Marika

Television TV movies Year Title Director 1976 Do I Have to Kill My Child? Donald Crombie 1978 A Good Thing Going Arch Nicholson 1986 Passion Flower Joseph Sargent 1998 The Clean Machine Ken Cameron

TV series Year Title Director Notes 1968–1970 This Day Tonight 10 episodes 1980 The Russians Arch Nicholson Documentary series 1988 Great Performances Rodney Fisher Episode "Melba"