Who is Autumn Durald Arkapaw, the first woman to win the Oscar for Best Cinematography?

The 2026 edition of the Oscars elevates Paul Thomas Anderson to the pinnacle of cinema with his long-awaited Oscar for Best Director and Best Picture for 'One Battle After Another', and leaves behind a historic episode: the first victory of a woman, the American Autumn Durald Arkapaw, in the Best Cinematography category for 'The Sinners'. For its part, the Spanish film 'Sirat' is left without a statuette in the two categories it was competing for: Best Sound and Best International Film.

Born in 1979, the Californian Durald Arkapaw she does not reach the pinnacle of cinema sponsored or coming from a great lineage of filmmakers. It was her fascination with the photographs that her relatives brought back from different trips around the world that led her to study the way in which the image was perpetuated, a purpose reinforced by her fascination with films such as Trainspotting o Heat.

His training, however, was not linked to technique; not even to the cinema. Graduated in art history, began to delve deeper into the seventh art with small courses aimed at acquiring transversal knowledge of the medium: from its conception to its conceptualization, always willing to explore different windows in cinematographic creation. At that time, I was recording small short films that I edited with amateur tools such as iMovie, and perhaps that was the reason why in 2007 he left his job in the advertising sales area to AOL-Time Warner to begin studying cinematography at the AFI (American Film Institute) school in Los Angeles).

This was his first platform to begin to get behind the cameras and, based on his pictorial knowledge, use the technique as a means to translate the ideas of the different creators with whom he collaborated. His first major recognition came just two years later, when the amateur film Macho was awarded at the festival of Raindance as Best Microbudget Movie. After several fashion films next to Gia Coppola, dozens of works in advertising, a significant number of video clips and several chapters in the series Loki of Disney+, reaffirmed his vocation with cinema by participating in works such as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever o The Last Showgirl (2024), nominated for the Golden Globes.

His last great project, The Sinners, has elevated her to the top of the film creation certifying his talent behind the cameras with the Oscar for Best Cinematography. Beyond artistic, a dense combination of past and future incorporating archival elements and portraying the 1930s in the southern United States, the Academics have recognized their desire to explore the possibilities of the technique: the film has been shot in 65 mm in its widest aspect, the Anamorphic Ultra Panavision 70 (2.76:1), and at the highest, the format IMAX (1.43:1), within the same production. Filmed with cameras Panavision System 65 Studio y System 65 High Speed, as well as with the IMAX MSM 9802 e MKIV, the tape unfolds the negative Kodak Ektachrome, which was specially adapted to the 65 mm format for this production.

Imposing giants like Adolpho Veloso (Train Dreams), Michael Bauman (One battle after another), Dan Laustsen (Frankenstein) and Darius Khondji (Marty Supreme), Durald collected the trophy, thanking the entire film team and demanding a community of women united in cinema so that this type of recognition stop being exceptional episodes: "Moments like this don't happen without women supporting you and defending your interests. I know that this has been possible because of that. In recent months, going through this process, I have learned that it takes an entire community to make things like this possible. But this is no longer about me. It is about much more."

There is still a way to go; So far, they have only been nominated for the category of Best Cinematography three other women: Rachel Morrison by Mudbound (2018), Ari Wegner by The Power of the Dog (2021) y Mandy Walker by Elvis (2022).

---

Sirat, empty-handed in the night of One battle after another

Oliver Laxe He was already pessimistic before the press that traveled to Los Angeles when questioned about his possible victory in the two categories to which he aspired: Best Sound and Best Foreign Film. His predictions ended up coming true: the blockbuster F1 won the award for Better Sound, while the Norwegian Valor Sentimental of Joachim Trier triumphed in the international category.

History will also remember The Sinners, beyond the victory of Autumn Durald Arkapaw in the category of Best Cinematography, for being the most nominated film in history. Their 16 options translated into four awards: Best Actor (Michael B. Jordan), Best Original Screenplay (Ryan Coogler), Best Soundtrack (Ludwig Göransson) y Best Cinematography (Autumn Durald Arkapaw).

His great rival was One battle after another of Paul Thomas Anderson, who not only won the double Best Film y Best Address, but also won awards of the stature of Best Adapted Screenplay (Paul Thomas Anderson), Best Supporting Actor (Sean Penn), Best Editing and Best Casting. The rest of the honors list is quite distributed: Frankenstein by Guillermo del Toro won the Best Production Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, y Best Costume, and the phenomenon KPop Demon Hunters, Best Animated Film y Best Original Song by 'Golden'.

The record is completed with the Oscar for Best Leading Actress for Jessie Buckley for Hamnet; the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress to Amy Madigan for Weapons; Mr. Nobody Against Putin, Best Documentary; Avatar: Fire and Ash, Better Visual Effects; The Girl who Cried Pearls, Best Animated Short; All The Empty Rooms, Mejor Corto Documental, y la histórica doble victoria en la categoría de Mejor Corto de Ficción, repartido entre Two People Exchanging Saliva y The Singers.

Palmarés de los Premios Oscars 2026

Mejor Película: One battle after another.

Mejor Dirección: Paul Thomas Anderson, por One battle after another.

Mejor Actor: Michael B. Jordan, por Los pecadores.

Mejor Actriz: Jessie Buckley, por Hamnet.

Mejor Actor de Reparto: Sean Penn, por One battle after another.

Mejor Actriz de Reparto: Amy Madigan, por Weapons.

Mejor Guion Original: Ryan Coogler, por Los pecadores.

Mejor Guion Adaptado: Paul Thomas Anderson, por One battle after another.

Mejor Película Internacional: Sentimental Value.

Mejor Película de Animación: Las guerreras K-Pop.

Mejor Documental: Mr. Nobody Against Putin.

Mejor Cortometraje de Ficción: The Singers.

Mejor Cortometraje de Ficción: Two People Exchanging Saliva.

Mejor Cortometraje Documental: All the Empty Rooms.

Mejor Cortometraje de Animación: The Girl Who Cried Pearls.

Mejor Banda Sonora Original: Ludwig Göransson, por Los pecadores.

Mejor Canción Original: “Golden”, de Las guerreras K-Pop.

Mejor Fotografía: Autumn Durald Arkapaw, por Los pecadores.

Mejor Montaje: Andy Jurgensen, por One battle after another.

Mejor Diseño de Producción: Tamara Deverell y Shane Vieau, por Frankenstein.

Mejor Vestuario: Kate Hawley, por Frankenstein.

Mejor Maquillaje y Peluquería: Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel y Cliona Furey, por Frankenstein.

Mejor Sonido: F1.

Mejores Efectos Visuales: Avatar: Fire and Ash.

Mejor Casting: Cassandra Kulukundis, por One battle after another.