On Sunday, April 18, the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) announced the winners of its 35th Annual ASC Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in both feature films and television at a livestream from the ASC Clubhouse, hosted by Ben Mankiewicz and available via Zoom and the American Cinematographer Facebook page.
Mank Cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt, ASC, won the Feature Film award for his work on the David Fincher film, while The Mandalorian and The Queen’s Gambit continued to receive below-the-line honors in the television categories.
Filmmaker Sofia Coppola received the Board of Governors Award, presented by Ed Lachman, ASC, who shot her first film, The Virgin Suicides, and Philippe Le Sourd, ASC, AFC, who shot her most recent film, On the Rocks.
Over the course of the ceremony, various ASC members paid tribute to some of the socially-aware films of 2020 like Lee Isaac Chung‘s Minari, presented by Steve Yeoman, ASC; Lachman paid tribute to the ASC nominee, Notturno; John Simmons, ASC introduced indie Princess of the Row; and another ASC member honored Joshua James Richards’ Cinematography in Nomadland, which many felt might win.
There was a touching tribute to all the ASC members who passed away in the past year with a reel of their amazing work, and sadly, there are far too many to mention.
You can read the winners in all seven film and television categories below:
Feature Film
(Presented by Sir Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC, CBE with James Deakins)
Erik Messerschmidt, ASC for Mank
Category sponsored by Keslow Camera
Spotlight
(The Spotlight Award recognizes exceptional cinematography in independent, foreign or art-house-type films. Jarin Blaschke won the ASC Award in 2020 for The Lighthouse and earned an Academy Award nomination for his work.)
(Presented by Matthew Libatique, ASC)
Aurélien Marra for Two of Us
Category sponsored by Panavision
Documentary
(Presented by Ellen Kuras, ASC)
Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw for The Truffle Hunters
Category sponsored by Canon USA
Motion Picture, Limited Series, or Pilot Made for Television
(Presented by Polly Morgan, ASC, BSC)
Steven Meizler for The Queen’s Gambit, “End Game”
Category sponsored by RED Digital Cinema
Episode of a One-Hour Television Series – Commercial
(Presented by James Whitaker, ASC)
Jon Joffin, ASC for Motherland: Fort Salem, “Up is Down”
Category sponsored by FotoKem
Episode of a One-Hour Television Series – Non-Commercial
(Presented by Paul Cameron, ASC)
Fabian Wagner, ASC, BSC for The Crown, “Imbroglio”
Category sponsored by Panavision
Episode of a Half-Hour Television Series
(Presented by Kira Kelly, ASC)
Baz Idoine for The Mandalorian, “Chapter 13: The Jedi”
Category sponsored by ARRI Inc.
You can learn more about the American Society of Cinematographers, the ASC Awards and joining the group at TheASC.com.
