“The Revenant” cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki has won his third consecutive feature-film award at the American Society of Cinematographers Awards, and his fourth in the last five years.
Lubezki won for “Birdman” last year, “Gravity” the year before and “The Tree of Life” in 2012. He became the first cinematographer to win back-to-back ASC awards last year, and his win for “The Revenant” gives him the organization’s first three-peat, as well as a fifth win overall.
That makes him the most-honored feature cinematographer in ASC history.
Lubezki is also favored to win his third consecutive Oscar for cinematography for “The Revenant,” in which he filmed in brutally cold outdoor conditions and used long takes to capture Alejandro G. Inarritu’s wilderness survival story.
He won in a powerhouse category whose other nominees were 14-time nominee Roger Deakins for “Sicario,” previous winner John Seale for “Mad Max: Fury Road” and multiple nominees Ed Lachman for “Carol” and Janusz Kaminski for “Bridge of Spies.”
It was Lubezki’s second win of the day, following a victory at BAFTA’s EE British Academy Film Awards in London.
Lubezki, Deakins, Lachman and Seale were all nominated for Academy Awards, while the fifth Oscar nom went to Robert Richardson for “The Hateful Eight.”
In the last 20 years, the ASC winner has gone on to win the Oscar for Best Cinematography 11 times.
The ASC’s Spotlight Award category, which goes to the cinematographer of a movie that has screened in limited release or at film festivals, ended in a tie between Adam Arkapaw for “Macbeth” and Mátyás Erdély for “Son of Saul.” Previous winners in the category include “Ida,” which went on to receive an Oscar cinematography nomination the following year (when it also won Best Foreign Language Film).
The ASC also gave out two television awards. For the best episode of a regular series, the winner was Vanja Cernjul for “Marco Polo,” while Pierre Gill won for the pilot “Casanova,” which has yet to be turned into a series but took the award for a television movie, miniseries or pilot.
Honorary awards went to cinematographers John Toll, Lowell Peterson and Bill Bennett, as well as filmmaker Ridley Scott. Sony preservationist Grover Crisp was given the Bud Stone Award of Distinction, which goes to an ASC associate member.
The winners:
Theatrical Release: Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC, “The Revenant”
Spotlight Award: (tie) Adam Arkapaw, “Macbeth” and Mátyás Erdély, HSC, “Son of Saul”
Episode of a Regular Series: Vanja Cernjul, ASC, HFC for “Marco Polo,” “The Fourth Step”
Television Movie, Miniseries, or Pilot: Pierre Gill, CSC for “Casanova”
Lifetime Achievement Award: John Toll, ASC
Board of Governors Award: Ridley Scott
Career Achievement in Television Award: Lowell Peterson, ASC
Presidents Award: Bill Bennett, ASC
Bud Stone Award of Distinction to ASC Associate Member: Grover Crisp
ASC Gordon Willis Heritage Award Winners:
Undergraduate: Nicolas Aguilar Ketchum, “Run”
Documentary: Rob W. Scribner, “Warbird Pilot: Behind the Visor”
Graduate: Steven Holloway, “The Defeat (x3)”