'Sinners' Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw

'Sinners' Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw

From IndieWire's Filmmaker Toolkit by Chris O'Falt

February 26, 2026 · 53 min

About this episode

Autumn Durald Arkapaw discusses her groundbreaking work on 'Sinners' and the challenges of being a woman in cinematography.

For her masterful work on "Sinners," Autumn became only the fourth woman in history to be nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar. She opened up with IndieWire VP Chris O'Falt about the prospect of becoming the first woman to win that award, and how being a woman in the field affected her early career and her current balance between work and family. And of course we dig into all the nerdy craft details, including a more candid conversation about the decision to use IMAX than you may have heard elsewhere. Revisit our episode with "Elvis" Cinematographer Mandy Walker, the third woman nominee in the category - open.spotify.com/episode/5iPCSArQfCBhCce1HbdsWE?si=CleehbCZTPmF7POubrB9ow Subscribe to Top Of The Line - IndieWire's new newsletter about the craft of film and TV - https://cloud.email.indiewire.com/signup/ 0:00 - Intro 1:53 - Autumn's career and personal live leading to "Sinners." 15:00 - Why the look of "Sinners" is so personal to Autumn. 18:50 - Capturing the authentic harsh sun & muggy nights of Mississippi Delta 23:54 - The challenges and technical details of shooting on IMAX film cameras. 35:13 - Executing the surreal 'I Lied to You' sequence. 40:12 - The challenges of…

People in this episode

Host: Chris O'Falt

Guest: Autumn Durald Arkapaw

Topics covered

  • Cinematography
  • Women in Film
  • IMAX Filming
  • Awards Campaign
  • Personal Stories
  • Technical Challenges

Keywords

  • Best Cinematography Oscar
  • IMAX
  • Mississippi Delta
  • VFX
  • Awards Campaign
  • Cinematographer

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: IndieWire, Top Of The Line, Spotify

Books & works: Sinners, Elvis

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