Autumn Durald Arkapaw becomes first woman to win an Oscar for Cinematography

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first woman to win the best cinematography Oscar Sunday. The 46-year-old American was recognized for her work on Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners.”

The profession has come a long way since Arkapaw, whose varied credits include “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” “The Last Showgirl” and a Rihanna music video, started exploring cinematography as a career path.

It wasn’t too long ago that she said she struggled to find many women in the field besides Ellen Kuras (“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”). Though there are more working today than there were 20 years ago, even Oscar nominations have been few and far between. Only three women before her hadd been nominated: Rachel Morrison (who worked with Coogler on “Fruitvale Station” and “Black Panther”) was the first for “Mudbound” in 2018, followed by Ari Wegner for “The Power of the Dog” and Mandy Walker for “Elvis.” Arkapaw was the first woman of color to be nominated.

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