Mar 16, 2026 6:08pm IST
Indian Cinematographers Express Joy as the First Female in the History of the Oscars – Autumn Durald Arkapaw – Wins the Best Cinematography Award, For ‘Sinners’
It has been 17 years since India’s National Film Awards honoured Anjuli Shukla at the 57th awards for Best Cinematography (this award was introduced only in the 11th edition!) for the Malayalam film, Kutty Srank. She remains the first (and so far, only) female Director Of Photography (DoP) to have won this recognition.
For a change, Indian cinema is way ahead of the Academy Awards, as it took their 98th edition to confer the same honor on Autumn Durald Arkapaw for “Sinners”. (Arkapaw had been earlier named by Variety in 2014 as one of 10 “Cinematographers to Watch” and as one of the “Up Next” in their Below The Line Impact Report.)
The Indian DoP fraternity has welcomed the win with great enthusiasm. Shukla, who is presently out of the country, missed the telecast due to the poor internet coverage where she is at. She thanked Variety India for breaking the news to her, “Even when I won my award for “Kutty Srank,” I was shooting for Urumi in a region with no network. Somehow, cinematographer Santosh Sivan, and Prithviraj (Sukumaran) managed to convey the news to me, while I was in the middle of a shot! I teared up and got emotional, barely believing it!” she recalled.
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She added, “It’s the same now! This news has again brought tears of joy. When Rachel Morrison, the first woman ever to be nominated for Best Cinematography, for her Mudbound, eight years ago, I remember being on tenterhooks waiting for her to win. Finally, Autumn winning has broken into the male bastion there. Now no one will question our credibility. In India too, we are going places and my best wishes to all my fellow women DOPs!”
Said Neha Parti Matiyani (“Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari”, “Four More Shots Please!”, “Rashmi Rocket”), “As a practising cinematographer, I know how much persistence and intuition goes into shaping every frame. Autumn Durald Arkapaw’s work has always carried a strong visual voice. It is sensitive, confident, and deeply connected to the story. Seeing her become the first female cinematographer to win the Oscar is not only historic—it’s long overdue. It opens the door wider for the many extraordinary women behind the camera. She is also now the first female cinematographer to shoot a feature using IMAX 65mm and Ultra Panavision formats.”
Sunita Radia (“Phule,” “Baadshaho”) exclaims, “This is a personal win for all of us! It’s time to change the status quo for women! We have got there now and we are proud of Autumn. She represents all of us!”
Four-time National Award winner Avik Mukhopadhyay (“Patalghar”, “Bhalo Theko”, “Antaheen” and “Sardar Udham”) admits that he has only watched clips of “Sinners”. “But it’s a historic occasion!” he stated. “Autumn is not only the first female DOP but also the first black woman to win this distinction. Out there, it’s a very much male-dominated scenario. It’s tough for a woman to be heading this department, as most of the people working under them are men!”
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