The Filipino-American cinematographer becomes the first woman to win the category in Oscar history.

History was made at the 2026 Oscars when Filipino-American cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw won Best Cinematography for Sinners. With the victory, Arkapaw becomes the first woman to ever receive the honor, as well as the first woman of color and first Filipino to do so in the category&rsquo;s nearly century-long history.
Directed by Ryan Coogler, Sinners arrived at the Oscars as the most nominated film of the year with 16 nominations. Arkapaw&rsquo;s work had already been widely celebrated throughout awards season, particularly for its ambitious technical scale. She became the first female cinematographer to shoot a feature film using large-format IMAX 65mm and Ultra Panavision 70, formats typically reserved for large studio epics and rarely led by women behind the camera.
Born in Oxnard, California and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Arkapaw is of Filipino descent on her mother&rsquo;s side and African-American Creole on her father&rsquo;s. Her Oscar win places her in a category that has historically excluded women. Before this year, only a handful had even been nominated, most notably Rachel Morrison for Mudbound in 2018. Arkapaw also joins fellow Filipino cinematographer Matthew Libatique as one of the few artists of Filipino heritage recognized by the Academy in the field.
In her acceptance speech, Arkapaw used the moment to acknowledge the women who supported her journey, asking them to stand in recognition. &ldquo;I'm so honored to be here, and I really want all the women in the room to stand up,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Because I feel like I wouldn't be here without you guys. I really, really, truly mean that.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I felt so much love from all the women on this whole campaign,&rdquo; she continued. &ldquo;Moments like this happen because of you guys, and I want to thank you for that.&rdquo;

Screenshot from YouTube.

Autumn Durald Arkapaw Wins Best Cinematography at the 2026 Oscars

L'OFFICIEL HOMMES PHILIPPINES JUNE 2026 - James Reid ₱600

L'OFFICIEL PHILIPPINES JUNE/JULY 2026 - Atasha Muhlach ₱600

L'OFFICIEL PHILIPPINES MAY 2026 - Kylie Verzosa ₱600

L'OFFICIEL PHILIPPINES APRIL 2026 - Rocio Zobel ₱600

L'OFFICIEL HOMMES PHILIPPINES MARCH 2026 - Andres Muhlach ₱600

L'OFFICIEL PHILIPPINES MARCH 2026 - Nadine Lustre ₱600 

L'OFFICIEL PHILIPPINES FEBRUARY 2026 - Mika Salamanca and Brent Manalo ₱600 

L'OFFICIEL HOMMES PHILIPPINES DECEMBER 2025 - Jay Chou ₱600

L'OFFICIEL PHILIPPINES DECEMBER/JANUARY 2025/2026 - Siobhan Moylan ₱600

L'OFFICIEL PHILIPPINES NOVEMBER 2025 - Pia Wurtzbach-Jauncey ₱600

Autumn Durald Arkapaw Wins Best Cinematography at the 2026 Oscars

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