Autumn Durald Arkapaw

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Autumn Durald Arkapaw is an American cinematographer whose work over two decades has ranged from short films to commercials, music videos, television shows, and narrative films. She has worked on music videos with artists such as Big Sean, Haim, Miguel, Rihanna, The Weeknd, and Travis Scott; and shot projects for directors like Ryan Coogler, Gia Coppola, Khalil Joseph, and Spike Jonze. Her ongoing collaboration with Gia Coppola began on the 2013 film Palo Alto when a close friend of hers from the American Film Institute (AFI) was unable to shoot the project and asked Arkapaw to fill in instead.[1] She later began working with Ryan Coogler on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) and Sinners (2025), becoming the first woman to shoot on 65mm and IMAX format and the first woman of color nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography.

Invested in making her work intimate and emotional, Arkapaw prepares to shoot by first assembling a group of like-minded individuals who understand her goal of creating lasting images that can speak to diverse cultures. She chooses to work with creators that share her aesthetic vision (such as her gaffer of ten years, Brian Bartolini) and feel like a temporary family while she is working away from her actual family. She is an artist who incorporates feedback from her collaborators into all of her preparation as she designs her visual style.

Her visual language is almost always captured in anamorphic, as she has a preference for wide images and believes that capturing closeups in the format allows for a more intimate image.[2] By shooting in large formats she can see both a larger resolution and a wider cultural and historical scope of her subjects. She often frames her characters with a shallow depth of field, aiming to highlight her subject's emotions. For example, in Sinners, she shoots at a very wide aperture. This allows her to simultaneously capture the rich, diverse, and expansive ecology of the Mississippi Delta and the delicate, intimate, and emotional vibrancy of the characters and their world. With her lenses, she looks for what she calls the “steez”—that life and texture of a lens with history and experience.[3] If a shot doesn’t “feel” right to her, Arkapaw steps back and re-evaluates her decision until she sees something through her eyepiece that speaks to her emotionally. At her core, she believes that filmmaking is about connecting with people and different cultures, and she does this both on set and through her lens.

[1] “How Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw Mixed Formats and Genres to Create the Most Visually Stunning Film of the Year” IndieWire.

[2] Panavision and Warner Bros. “Why Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw shot Sinners in 65mm.” YouTube, January 12, 2026. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLH7G5W8jxM

[3] Ibid.

SELECTED WORKS

Cinematographer

Sinners (2025), dir. Ryan Coogler

The Last Showgirl (2024), dir. Gia Coppola

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2024), dir. Ryan Coogler

“Lift Me Up” (2022), Rihanna, dir. Autumn Durald Arkapaw

Loki (2021), dir. Kate Herron

Mainstream (2020), dir. Gia Coppola

Beastie Boys Story (2020), dir. Spike Jonze

“Power is Power” (2019), Sza ft. The Weeknd and Tarvis Scott, dir. Anthony Mandler

The Sun Is Also a Star (2019), dir. Ry Russo-Young

Teen Spirit (2018), dir. Max Minghella

Untogether (2018), dir. Emma Forrest

The Reflektor Tapes (2015), with Lol Crawley and Malik Hassan Sayeed, dir. Kahlil Joseph

“You’re Not Good Enough” (2014), Blood Orange, dir. Gia Coppola

One and Two (2013), dir. Andrew Dorz Palermo

“Primetime” (2013), Janelle Monáe, dir. Alan Ferguson

“Lovers In the Parking Lot” (2013), dir. Solange Knowles

Palo Alto (2013), dir. Gia Coppola

SELECTED INTERVIEWS

Jolin, Dan. “Creating the world of ‘Sinners’, from the southern Gothic milieu to the spectacular musical Juke Joint setpiece.” Screen Daily, February 6, 2026. https://www.screendaily.com/features/creating-the-world-of-sinners-from-the-southern-gothic-milieu-to-the-spectacular-musical-juke-joint-setpiece/5213196.article

Dillon, Mark. “Sinners: Big, Bold Blues and Blood.” American Cinematographer, February 6, 2026. https://theasc.com/articles/sinners-cinematography-durald-arkapaw

Panavision and Warner Bros. “Why Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw shot Sinners in 65mm.” YouTube, January 12, 2026. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLH7G5W8jxM

Hemphill, Jim. “How Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw Mixed Formats and Genres to Create the Most Visually Stunning Film of the Year” IndieWire, November 30, 2025. https://www.indiewire.com/features/interviews/sinners-cinematographer-autumn-durald-arkapaw-interview-1235162632/

Tan Liwag, Jason. “Behind the Vision of Autumn Durald Arkapaw, One of Hollywood’s Most Talked-About Cinematographers” Vogue Philippines. September 30, 2025. https://vogue.ph/lifestyle/culture/cinematographer-autumn-durald-arkapaw-profile/

Hart, Hugh. “Soul Transcendent: How DP Autumn Durald Arkapaw Captured Black Music’s Timeless Continuum in Sinners.” The Credits, May 1, 2025. Soul-transcendent-how-dp-autumn-durald-arkapaw-captured-black-musics-timeless-continuum-i n-sinners

Robertson, Emma. “Autumn Durald Arkapaw, “It’s an Out of Body Experience.”” The Talks. https://the-talks.com/interview/autumn-durald-arkapaw/

Mulcahey, Matt. “’Anamorphic’s Biggest Fan’: DP Autumn Durald Arkapaw on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” Filmmaker Magazine, March 1, 2023. https://filmmakermagazine.com/119993-interview-cinematographer-autumn-durald-arkapaw-black-panther-wakanda-forever/#.ZDmAsy2cbs0

Film Roundtable. “Production Designer Kasra Farahani and Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw on Marvel Series Loki.” YouTube, December 10, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx11ts5sR18

Panavision Staff. “Autumn Durald Arkapaw Chooses Panavision Anamorphics to Frame The Sun Is Also a Star.” Panavision. https://www.panavision.com/highlights/highlights-detail/villainy-never-looked-so-good

Holben, Jay. “Shot Craft: Anatomy of a scene - Loki” The American Cinematographer, October 6, 2021. https://theasc.com/articles/shot-craft-anatomy-of-a-scene-loki

Bernstein, Paula. “‘Palo Alto’ DP Autumn Durald On Being a Female Cinematographer.” IndieWire, April 23, 2014. https://www.indiewire.com/features/craft/palo-alto-dp-autumn-durald-on-being-a-female-cinematographer-27472/

IN CONVERSATION

Durald Arkapaw, Autumn. “In Focus: Autumn Durald Arkapaw A Letter to Emerging Filmmakers” SEEN, no. 9 (Fall 2025). https://www.blackstarfest.org/seen/read/issue-009/in-focus-autumn-durald-arkapaw/

Durald Arkapaw, Autumn. “In Conversation with Autumn Durald and Bradford Young: Wakanda Forever.” Vimeo, April 13, 2023. https://vimeo.com/autumndurald/inconversationwakanda?share=copy

Research and writing done by Taylor Coleman with assistance and editing by Dr. Daren Fowler.