In honour of Women’s History Month, the vampire horror-filled-with-the-blues, Sinners, broke records at the 98th Academy Awards. First, with having the most nominations for any movie ever, sixteen. But also for having Best Cinematography being won by a woman for the first time, specifically a woman of colour. While this is absolutely fascinating, it is equal parts annoying and frustrating that out of 98 years of history, a woman wins an award for cinema for the first time in 2026.
The winner is Autumn Durald Arkapaw. She worked with Ryan Coogler to create stunning shots that form the lively colour palette of Sinners–from colder, darker blues that are interwoven into the blues songs in the movie to warmer and more vibrant yellows and browns. The movie was a box-office hit and from then given criticism specifically on its commentary around relationships between race, culture, identity, and aspects of colonialism. This became especially intriguing through the establishment of vampires, and so, if one were to view this as simply a horror flick, then they would need to watch it again for the opposite effect. Sinners was not just a movie to be enjoyed and critiqued by movie critics; it was supposed to represent the same, universal impacts of colonialism and racism, but give enough room for its viewers to be sucked into its world that involves soulful and powerful melodies and lyrics to well-built and dimensional characters.
Many times, it becomes more difficult to be happy for success around records at places like the Oscars because they always come down to one exact reason. That is when the truth becomes convenient; it can be sold. Sinners winning four Oscars is not just groundbreaking, but it stands for another time when movies connecting identity and culture to heavy bouts of symbolism finally become digestible to famous shows like the Recording Academy. A tiktok user @glass__museum analyzed more on this effect and how it is damaging in many parts. However, winning major awards becomes a testament to how often women, especially of colour, can do the impossible in the name of something outstanding and incredibly well done. That is the cinematographer of Sinners, Autumn Durald Arkapaw.
Born in California to a Filipino mother and a Black Creole father, she gradually gained more experience in advertising and camera assisting. Sinners was shot on 65 mm film, using IMAX 15-perf and Ultra Panavision 70 cameras, becoming the first female director of photography to shoot any movie on large IMAX film. But while we can attach the word female to this achievement, what can this mean for more significant implications affecting the movie industry in years, even decades?
It might not always be easy to say that a door has opened, because we do not know if that means another door will open after another. It may take another record broken for everything to fall into place more consistently. As for Autumn, she took another step that gained her recognition. Many directing choices go into the immersion of its audience into the world and its characters, and her talent and artistic vision aligned with that of the team. All we do know is that this is not the first time it has happened, but it has been recognized for the first time. Women are a part of making and splitting up history with such skill and craftsmanship, and we see this through every barrier broken, as well as the confidence and the belief in themselves. Autumn asked all the women in the room to stand up, “as this wouldn’t have been possible without them.” I think it will be easier to say that we will see more women being represented against the will of others; it can just mean that a moment may be looked at more differently. That women altogether can create behind-the-scenes and know how to better and more precisely work through their characters in their world.
But as for Sinners, many scenes—including the one that featured dancers at different times in the presence of music- will truly be highlighted in cinema for years to come. The easiest thing we can do is cheer and be hopeful for the future of younger women who are filmmakers and are inspired to bring their direction to the stage. Sometimes an Oscar for this reason may not be so valuable, as people are awed by the brush sweeping through the canvas in smaller trudges to larger and louder remarks that complement each other, a full picture that is only elevated by its parts. The future is in women, and perhaps can only be.