“Sinners” cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw’s history-making Oscar nomination is a full-circle moment.
In 1964, director John Ford released his western “Cheyenne Autumn.” Though among Ford’s lesser-known films, it made enough of an impression on a family in Oxnard, Calif., who in 1979 named their baby daughter Autumn Cheyenne as an homage to the picture.
Over 46 years later, that little girl became the first woman of color and fourth woman overall to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography for her work on Ryan Coogler’s genre-bending epic. Her nomination is one of the record-breaking 16 nominations for the film, a feat that beat “All About Eve,” “La La Land,” and “Titanic” to become the most Oscar-nominated film of all time.
Ahead of receiving the award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography the National Board of Review in New York City, Arkapaw reflected on her potential to make history on Oscar nomination morning. “It’s not just I love the work and I love who I made it with, but very few women have been nominated in the history of that award,” she told Access Hollywood. “I’m rooting for the girls.”
“Sinners” is the Oscar nominee’s second collaboration with Coogler, whom she praised for creating a sense of community on set. “Ryan is someone that you look up to,” Arkapaw told Access. “He’s a good person, he’s a great leader, he sees everyone on set, he knows everyone on set, and that’s very rare.”
Arkapaw was working on another film when Coogler sent her his latest project under its working title, “Grilled Cheese” (the name “Sinners” came after the production had wrapped).
“I just knew it was a period piece, and it was something personal,” she recalled when reading the film script one night. “It blew me away.”
What unfolded was the story of the Smoke Stack twins – Elijah and Elias – both characters played by newly minted Best Actor nominee Michael B. Jordan, and their goal of opening a juke joint. What follows is a mirage of music set amongst open skies, and of hope and heartbreak deeply rooted in Coogler’s own life.
“I wrote this movie out of regret,” Coogler told a crowd of peers, journalists and film enthusiasts while accepting the award for Best Original Screenplay at the National Board of Review. “I wasn’t there when my Uncle James passed, I was on a film set,” Coogler, moved to tears, continued. “I wrote this script in his memory.” He ended his speech with a nod to Arkapaw. “Autumn, God bless you for making those incredible pictures.”
Those “pictures” in “Sinners” have turned into some of the most memorable movie moments of the year. A lush sunset, a scene of rhythmic townspeople morphing through time, a bloodied Jordan on the frontlines of a battle royale with an Irish clogger. What could have easily been a mess of images lost in the film’s genre shuffle – gore for the vampires, glossy for the period-element – Arkapaw instead created a déjà vu effect for the audience, inviting them to explore each scene as if they were revisiting old family photo albums. First planning out these visuals, Coogler envisioned a down and dirty approach, similar to the tactile cinema-verité style Arkapaw applied on Gia Coppola’s “The Last Showgirl.”
But when the opportunity came to go big with IMAX, Arkapaw went big and in the process became the first female cinematographer to shoot in both Ultra Panavision 70 and IMAX 65mm. Another stamp of originality, Arkapaw and her team commissioned their own film stock made by Kodak especially for “Sinners,” giving the drama its crisp quality and rich palette.
But what Arkapaw achieves in “Sinners” is not only a technical feat, but a deeper expression of what she brings to the table as a collaborator. “Autumn is incredibly supportive,” “Sinners” star and now Academy Award nominee for Best Supporting Actor Delroy Lindo told Access about working with Arkapaw. “It’s extremely rewarding working with an artist such as Autumn. And then seeing the results? Incredible.”
Ford’s “Cheyenne Autumn” happened to be up for, and lost, a single Oscar nomination: cinematography (color). With honors from the National Board of Review and the New York Film Critics Circle, along with a nomination for the upcoming American Society of Cinematographers Awards, there is a very real possibility Arkapaw could win that same award her namesake was up for over 60 years ago.
Tune in watch it all unfold live during the Oscars telecast at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. EST on ABC Sunday, March 15.
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