The International Cinematographers Guild (ICG, IATSE Local 600) has announced cinematographer Johanna Coelho will accept the Distinguished Filmmaker Award, presented by Panavision, Family of Companies, at the 27th Annual Emerging Cinematographer Awards (ECA).
Cinematographer Sandra Valde-Hansen, ASC, LPS, will be honored with the ASC Mentor Award.
“Our Distinguished Filmmaker and ASC Mentor awards winners represent the best of today’s craft behind the camera,” shared Steven Poster, ASC, and Eduardo Fierro, SVC, chair and co-chair of the ECA committee, in a shared statement. “We’re all coming together to celebrate the next generation of cinematography, and we couldn’t be more thrilled and proud.”
The ECA honorees will be celebrated with both an awards event on Sunday, Sept. 28, and a luncheon at the ASC Clubhouse on Friday, Sept. 26. Cinematographer Stephen Lighthill, ASC, will present the ASC Mentor Award to Valde-Hansen during the luncheon. Coelho will receive the Distinguished Filmmaker Award during the ECA showcase event on Sept. 28.
Coelho’s visual style prioritizes the emotional storylines of the characters, to create the best visual atmosphere for characters to perform in. She is currently shooting season two of HBO MAX’s acclaimed new series “The Pitt.” Previously, she worked on seasons two and four of “The Rookie” on ABC and the film “All Happy Families.” Coelho studied cinematography at the American Film Institute.
Valde-Hansen is an accomplished Filipina-American cinematographer, working across feature films, television and documentary, who is deeply committed to increasing representation in front of and behind the camera. She holds an MFA from the American Film Institute, where she now serves as a sr. lecturer in cinematography. Her notable credits include “The Summer I Turned Pretty” and “Plan B,” as well as acclaimed indie filmmaker Gregg Araki’s “Now Apocalypse,” “Kaboom” and “White Bird in a Blizzard.”
In addition to the special awards, ICG announced eight honorees earlier this summer. The eight winning filmmakers, selected from 100 submissions, are:
Isaac Banks, “The Trophy King”
John B. Barrett, “Recall”
Daniel Cotroneo, “Yae: Blind Samurai Woman”
Eythan Maidhof, “Class Clown”
Mariscela Beatríz, Méndez “The Middle”
Josh Pickering, “Boundless | HomeAid”
Steven Jacob Russell, “Hammer”
Alexa Wolf, “To Fade Away”
The awards ceremony will include the screening of the honorees’ eight short films and will be held at the Television Academy Saban Media Center Wolf Theatre.
