The first-time nominee attended the Academy Awards in Thom Browne, with a picture of her grandfather, and her ten-year old son by her side
Sinners’ Autumn Durald Arkapaw, the first woman of color to be nominated for the Best Cinematography Academy Award, arrived on the red carpet today wearing a lavishly embroidered Thom Browne look. “I’ve always noticed Thom Browne’s distinct shape and structure,” she said a few hours before the awards show kicked off.
“It exudes confidence and fun and beauty and strength.” She first came to know the designer through her colleague and collaborator, Sinners director Ryan Coogler. “I would always compliment him when he showed up in Thom Browne, so I was honored when they asked me to wear it on the carpet tonight.”Her everyday style may be more casual—she’s “in a pair of Levi’s and a vintage T-shirt or hoodie, and either Adidas or Doc Martens that are very worn in”—but tonight’s Thom Browne look is the best interpretation of her “off-the-carpet” dress-up style, which usually involves “a really nice coat with fine jewelry.”Tonight, she’ll be bringing a picture of her grandfather, for good luck. “I always have a picture of my grandparents on the camera when I shoot a movie. My camera team prints it for me, and they put Velcro on the back and we put it on the camera,” she explained. “I always carry it with me.” Family is very important for Durald Arkapaw, who will be attending with her son. “We got him a tux from Ralph Lauren, which he’s very excited about—he’s excited about wearing a cummerbund, and he got very special cuff links shaped like little penguins,” she shared. “I just want to hold his little hand and feel his excited 10-year-old energy. I wouldn’t have come without him—it’s important that he’s a part of this and that he can be here with me and see all the hard work that goes into making these films.”Although the Academy has been awarding a prize in Best Cinematography since 1927, Durald Arkapaw is only the fourth woman to ever be nominated—the first woman was Rachel Morrison, nominated in 2017, for her work in Mudbound. It was Morrison who first suggested to Coogler that he reach out to Durald Arkapaw to work on 2022’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, when she wasn’t available to work on the production herself. “We met through a friend; she was a couple of years ahead of me at American Film Institute, and she’s been a touchstone for me for a long time. Whenever I have any questions about anything—even when I became a mother—she’s always been there for me, and she has a great spirit and energy,” she explains. “It’s really nice to be able to have people like that in your life, especially women that do the same job as you and our mothers and very strong individuals and can help guide you and lift you up. So going tomorrow is important to me and my family, but I also kind of have her by my side too, because when she was the first woman to be nominated, I felt like every female cinematographer was there with her, so she'll be there with me tomorrow as well.”
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