Oscars 2026: Fil-Am Autumn Durald Arkapaw bags Best in Cinematography trophy

Autumn Durald Arkapaw just won the Oscar for Best in Cinematography for making her the first woman and the first woman of color to do so in that category. She is of Filipino descent.

Autumn won for her work in the Ryan Coogler film "Sinners," and in her acceptance speech, she thanked her director for believing in her, and asked all the women in the room to stand up “because I won’t be here without you guys. I have received so much love from all the women!”

Backstage, the press stood up and gave Autumn a warm welcome and applauded her for breaking barriers as the first woman of color to win an Oscar in this category.

"Hopefully this award will inspire all the little girls to be in cinematography as well," Autumn said.

"I always believe you have to be yourself to be seen," she added, before once again thanking the "Sinners" director.

"Ryan (Coogler) opened a lot of doors for me and I am very grateful to him," Autumn said.

The lovely cinematographer attended the Oscar with her mom, stepdad and son, and looked amazing in her Thom Browne outfit.

Autumn is a 47-year-old cinematographer who is of Filipino descent on her mother's side and African American Creole on her father's side.

Already awarded with honors from the National Board of Review, National Society of Film Critics, and New York Film Critics Circle Awards, Autumn told GMA News Online ahead of Oscars night that she's "honored just to be recognized for the work."

"[And] now to be recognized because it doesn't happen very often. Everyone knows, like being the fourth woman to be nominated — they feel new things. Even though women have been around a very long time, being photographers and worked in film, so, it's important. I feel the weight of that in a positive way. But to be able to inspire other girls and say, we can do this. It's very nice," she added.

Earlier during the awarding ceremony, Sean Penn won Best Supporting Actor, and Amy Magidan, Best Supporting Actress. Netflix sensation "Kpop Demon Hunters" was hailed Best Animated Feature.

— LA, GMA Integrated News