For her lensing of Elvis, Mandy Walker, ASC, ACS has become the first woman to win the marquee feature film honor at the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Awards.
The history-making achievement took place Sunday evening (3/5), capping the ASC Awards ceremony at the Beverly Hilton. Thanking her family, director Baz Luhrmann, the ASC and Warner Bros. Pictures, among others, Walker in her acceptance remarks smiled and said, “This is for all the women who win this award after me.”
In her acknowledgment of Luhrmann, Walker described him as “a true auteur” whom she’s been creating “magic” with for the past some 20 years. Their first collaboration was a Chanel No. commercial. This led to Luhrmann and Walker teaming on the sprawling epic feature Australia, followed by another Chanel No. 5 spot and then Elvis.
Walker topped a field of ASC Award nominees in the feature category which also consisted of Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC for Empire of Light; Greig Fraser, ASC, ACS for The Batman; Darius Khondji, ASC, AFC for Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths; and Claudio Miranda, ASC for Top Gun: Maverick.
Walker’s ASC win comes just a couple of days before Oscar voting ends on March 7. She is also nominated for the Best Cinematography Oscar, making her just the third woman to be up for that honor, joining Rachel Morrison who was nominated in 2018 for Mudbound, and Ari Wegner whose nod came in 2022 for The Power of the Dog.
The Academy Award nominees this year for Best Cinematography are Walker; Deakins; Khondji; James Friend, ASC, BSC for All Quiet on the Western Front; and Florian Hoffmeister, BSC for Tár.
Other ASC feature winners
Meanwhile, topping the ASC Awards’ Spotlight category–which recognizes outstanding cinematography in independent, foreign or art house-type films–was Sturla Brandth Grøvlen, DFF for War Sailor.
Rounding out the feature winners–this one for documentary filmmaking–were Ben Bernhard and Riju Das for All That Breathes.
Television
Winners in the TV categories were M. David Mullen, ASC for the “How Do You Get To Carnegie Hall?” episode of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (topping the episode of a one-hour non-commercial TV series category); Jules O’Loughlin, ASC, ACS for The Old Man episode entitled “IV” (episode of a one-hour commercial TV series); Carl Herse for the “Starting Now” installment of Barry (episode of a half-hour series); and Sean Porter for The Old Man “I” episode (in the pilot, limited series or motion picture made for TV category).
Mullen is the only winner this year–features or TV–who’s been previously nominated for an ASC Award. This was his fourth nomination for the The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and his first win.
Special honors
Honorary awards at the ceremony included Viola Davis receiving the ASC Board of Governors Award (presented by Gina Prince-Bythewood), and Stephen Goldblatt, ASC, BSC accepting the ASC Lifetime Achievement Award (presented by Octavia Spencer). Darius Khondji, ASC, AFC was given the ASC International Award (presented by Alejandro G. Iñárritu), and Fred Murphy, ASC was honored with the ASC Career Achievement in Television Award (presented by Jake Gyllenhaal). Charlie Lieberman, ASC received the Presidents Award (presented by John Simmons, ASC), and Sam Nicholson, ASC took home the Curtis Clark ASC Technical Achievement Award (presented by Stephen Lighthill and sponsored by Unreal Engine). The Bud Stone Award was given to FotoKem’s Mike Broderson and Mark Van Horne (presented by Richard Crudo, ASC).
Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz emceed the 37th ASC Awards ceremony.
THEATRICAL FEATURE FILM
Mandy Walker, ASC, ACS for Elvis (Warner Bros.)
SPOTLIGHT AWARD
Sturla Brandth Grøvlen, DFF for War Sailor (DCM Film)
EPISODE OF A ONE-HOUR NON-COMMERCIAL TELEVISION SERIES
M. David Mullen, ASC for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – “How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?” (Prime Video)
PILOT, LIMITED SERIES, OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Sean Porter for The Old Man – “I” (FX)
EPISODE OF A HALF-HOUR SERIES
Carl Herse for Barry – “Starting Now” (HBO/HBO MAX)
EPISODE OF A ONE-HOUR COMMERCIAL TELEVISION SERIES
Jules O’Loughlin, ASC, ACS for The Old Man – “IV” (FX)
DOCUMENTARY AWARD
Ben Bernhard and Riju Das for All That Breathes (HBO/HBO Max)
