Sinners has taken home the Academy Award for cinematography at the 2026 Oscars, making the film’s cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw the first woman and first Black person to win this award.

Until Arkapaw’s win, no woman had ever received the Academy Award for cinematography. Only three women had previously been nominated in the category: Rachel Morrison in 2018 for Mudbound , Ari Wegner in 2021 for The Power of the Dog , and Mandy Walker in 2022 for Elvis .

Arkapaw had already made history before the ceremony as the first woman of color ever nominated for the award.…