Oscars 2026: Autumn Durald Arkapaw makes history as first female ‘Best Cinematography’ winner
Amid its record-breaking streak at this year’s Oscars, Sinners has made even more history after Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first-ever woman to win for ‘Best Cinematography’.
It comes as a high point during the film’s dominance throughout the night, with the Ryan Coogler horror movie garnering 16 nods in total.
The film had already won awards, including ‘Best Original Screenplay’ earlier in the evening, but when Arkapaw took to the stage after winning her category, she made history as the first ever female cinematographer to win an Oscar.
She began her speech by having her young son Aiden brought to the front of the audience, paying tribute to all of the women who inspired her journey.
Arkapaw then said: “I’m so honoured to be here, and I really want all the women in the room to stand up. I don’t get here without all you guys. I really, truly mean that. I have felt so much love from all the women and gotten to meet so many people and I wanna thank you for that.”
She subsequently created one of the best moments of the night, with all the women in the room joining with her ask to stand up and share in the moment.
This year’s Oscars has been significant for women with the most collective number of nominations in its history, coming to a total of 76 female nods across the board.
It came as the third win of the night for Sinners, after Ludwig Göransson became the youngest-ever three-time Oscar winner after he won ‘Best Original Score’ at the age of 41.
Sinners could be on track to dominate the night, with Michael B Jordan being the current frontrunner for the ‘Best Actor’ award.
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