Adam Arkapaw
Born
Bowral, Australia
OccupationCinematographer
Years active2001–present
Spouse
​
​
(m. 2015)​
Children1
Websitewww.arkapaw.com

Adam Arkapaw is an Australian cinematographer. He is best known for his work on the television series Top of the Lake and True Detective, for which he has won two Creative Arts Emmy Awards. He is also known for his collaborations with director Justin Kurzel, whom he worked with on Snowtown, Macbeth, and Assassin's Creed.

Early life

Arkapaw was born in Bowral, a New South Wales town south of Sydney, and attended Bowral High School.[1] He studied at the University of Melbourne's Victorian College of the Arts, graduating in 2006 with a Bachelor of Film and Television.[2][3]

Career

In addition to numerous short films, Arkapaw photographed three Australian features over the next several years: Animal Kingdom (2010), Snowtown (2011), and Lore (2012).[4] He received a nomination for the AACTA Award for Best Cinematography in 2010 for his work on Animal Kingdom and in 2011 he was named one of Variety magazine's "10 Cinematographers to Watch".[1]

Arkawpaw next worked on Jane Campion's television miniseries Top of the Lake, which was filmed in New Zealand and broadcast in 2013. That year he won a Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries or Movie.[4] In 2014 he won his second Emmy Award, for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series, in recognition of his work on the HBO television series True Detective.[3] True Detective was filmed in Louisiana and Arkapaw's cinematography received wide praise, especially for a six-minute single-take long take that was planned over months and took one and a half days to film.[5]

Arkapaw was the cinematographer of the 2015 film Macbeth, directed by Justin Kurzel, with whom Arkapaw previously worked on Snowtown.[2] He also photographed McFarland, USA, an American sports film released in 2015,[6] and the drama film The Light Between Oceans. He collaborated with Kurzel for a third time on the action-adventure film Assassin's Creed, which was released in the United States in December 2016.[7]

Personal life

He is married to American cinematographer Autumn Durald;[8] the couple has one son, Aedan.[9]

Filmography

Documentary films

Year Title Director
2007 We Will Be Remembered For This David Schmidt
2010 Return to Gaza Michael Weatherhead
The Ball Jessica Leski

Feature films

Year Title Director Notes
2009 Blind Company Alkinos Tsilimidos
2010 Animal Kingdom David Michôd
2011 Snowtown Justin Kurzel
2012 Lore Cate Shortland
2015 McFarland, USA Niki Caro
Macbeth Justin Kurzel
2016 The Light Between Oceans Derek Cianfrance
Assassin's Creed Justin Kurzel
2019 Light of My Life Casey Affleck
The King David Michôd
2022 The Chess Game Will Taylor With Rob White
2023 Magazine Dreams Elijah Bynum

Television

Year Title Director Notes
2013 Top of the Lake Jane Campion
Garth Davis		 7 episodes
2014 True Detective Cary Fukunaga Season 1
2015 Flesh and Bone David Michôd Episode "Bulling Through"
2024 Masters of the Air Cary Fukunaga Miniseries

Awards

Award Year Category Nominated work Result
AACTA Awards 2012 Best Cinematography Snowtown Nominated
2013 Lore Nominated
2014 Best Cinematography in Television Top of the Lake Won
2015 Byron Kennedy Award Adam Arkapaw Won
2019 Best Cinematography The King Won
ASC Awards 2015 Spotlight Award Macbeth Won
Australian Film Institute Awards 2006 Outstanding Achievement in Short Film Screen Craft End of Town Nominated
2010 Best Cinematography Animal Kingdom Nominated
British Independent Film Awards 2015 Best Technical Achievement Macbeth Nominated
Manaki Film Festival Silver Camera 300 Won
Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards 2013 Outstanding Cinematography True Detective Won
2014 Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series Won
Stockholm International Film Festival 2012 Best Cinematography Lore Won

References

  1. ^ a b Friend, David (11 February 2011). "Adam Arkapaw: Modus operandi is understated". Variety. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  2. ^ a b Bailey, John (2 March 2014). "Let the good films roll". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Adam Arkapaw wins second Emmy Award". University of Melbourne. 26 August 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  4. ^ a b Bodey, Michael (16 September 2013). "Emmy for Australian cinematographer Adam Arkapaw". The Australian. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  5. ^ Friedlander, Whitney (5 August 2014). "How Cinematographer Adam Arkapaw Captured 'True Detective'". Variety. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  6. ^ Rocchi, James (4 February 2015). "'McFarland, USA' Review: Kevin Costner Goes the Distance in This True-Life Sports Tale". TheWrap. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  7. ^ Kohler, Chris; Muncy, Julie. "Not a Gamer? Here's What the Assassin's Creed Film Trailer Means". Wired. Conde Nast. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  8. ^ Tapley, Kristopher (5 January 2016). "Ryan Coogler on 'Creed,' Filmmaking as Journalism and the Need for Female Voices (Q&A)".
  9. ^ Autumn Arkapaw [@addp] (6 September 2021). "My boy | Aedan". Archived from the original on 4 December 2022 – via Instagram.

External links

Awards for Adam Arkapaw
Authority control databases
Categories