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Filipino-American cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw made history after winning Best Cinematography at the 98th Academy Awards.

Autumn became the first woman, and the first woman of color, to receive the award in the category.

She earned the recognition for her work as director of photography in the film Sinners, directed by Ryan Coogler.

The award was presented during the Oscars ceremony held on March 15 in the United States (March 16 in the Philippines).

Before her historic Oscar win, Autumn had already earned recognition for pushing the technical limits of filmmaking. She became the first female cinematographer to shoot a feature using Ultra Panavision and IMAX 65mm cameras and remains the only cinematographer to have used an IMAX 15-perf camera with KODAK EKTACHROME film stock.

During her acceptance speech, Autumn took a moment to honor the women who supported her journey. “I am so honored to be here, and I really want all the women in the room to stand up because I feel like I don't get here without you guys. I really really truly mean that.”

Her film Sinners had already been making waves ahead of the ceremony. In January 2026, it broke records with 16 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Cinematography.

In nearly a century of Oscars history, only three women had previously been nominated for Best Cinematography: Rachel Morrison for Mudbound in 2018, Ari Wegner for The Power of the Dog in 2021, and Mandy Walker for Elvis in 2022.


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