The Oscars are around the corner, and the nominees for the different categories will be announced soon. One week before the event, the ASC will celebrate its Outstanding Achievement Awards and has revealed its 2024 nominees in feature film, documentary, television, and music video categories. Let’s see who they are!Filmmaking awards always raise expectations in those who love movies and, whatever their meaning is (in the end, it is a subjective decision and sometimes we prefer and remember films that didn’t win), it is still an achievement in someone’s career, no matter the award. Indeed, all of us who love movies and good cinematography will be tuned to the ASC Awards to discover the winners.ASC Award 2024 nomineesCinematography is one of the cornerstones of any good movie. Far from being a collection of lovely images, good cinematography usually serves the story and reflects the directors’ vision to make their idea a reality. Sometimes it is clean, sometimes gritty, sometimes in color, or black and white… But good cinematography helps tell the story just as much as a good script, sound, or music.A film still from “El Conde” by Pablo Larraín, 2023. Cinematography by Edward Lachman.The nominees for the 38th ASC Awards in the different categories are (including streaming links where available):THEATRICAL FEATURE FILM NOMINEESEdward Lachman, ASC for El Conde (Netflix). Lachman is a versatile cinematographer with 2 previous Oscar nominations (Carol and Far from Heaven). In Carol (2015), he filmed in 16mm primarily on real locations for a naturalistic style. In Far from Heaven, he created a totally different expressionistic approach.Matthew Libatique, ASC, LPS for Maestro (Netflix). Libatique, previously Oscar-nominated for Black Swan and A Star is Born, is well-known for his collaboration with director Darren Aronofsky. In Maestro, he makes use of different aspect ratios and color/black and white to tell the story.Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC for Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple TV+). Prieto adds this to his four previous nominations (The Irishman, Silence, Brokeback Mountain, and Frida).Robbie Ryan, ISC for Poor Things (Searchlight). The Irish cinematographer was previously nominated in 2019 for his work on the movie ‘The Favourite’. Hoyte van Hoytema, ASC, FSF, NSC for Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures). Usual collaborator on Christopher Nolan’s latest movies, the Dutch-Swedish director has one Oscar nomination for Dunkirk, and two ASC nominations for Dunkirk and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. In this movie, the cinematographer also mixes color and black-and-white scenes.A film still from “Maestro” by Bradley Cooper, 2023. Cinematography by Matthew Libatique.Other categoriesSpotlight AwardThe Spotlight Award recognizes outstanding cinematography in features and documentaries screened at film festivals, internationally or in limited theatrical release.Eric Branco for Story Ave. (Kino Lorber)Krum Rodriguez for Citizen SaintWarwick Thornton for The New BoyEpisode of a one-hour regular seriesA film still from “Oppenheimer” by Christopher Nolan, 2023. Cinematography by Hoyte van Hoytema.Limited or anthology series or motion picture made for TV Episode of a half-hour seriesDocumentary AwardMusic Video AwardWhen and where to watchThe 38th Annual ASC Awards ceremony will take place on March 3, 2024, at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California. You can watch the live streaming of the event at theasc.com.Exclusive ASC content on MZedDid you know that MZed, CineD’s education platform, features hundreds of hours of original content by the American Society of Cinematographers, some of it exclusively? This includes an exclusively produced Wildlife Filmmaking course and the ASC Clubhouse Conversations, with more exclusive ASC course content added soon. Check it out!What do you think of this award? Who are your favorites for this year?
