2021 Oscar Predictions: CINEMATOGRAPHY (September)
MANK (courtesy of Netflix)
This year’s batch of cinematography Oscar hopefuls is a surprising mix of names we know, like Greig Fraser (a previous nominee for Lion) who has the Denis Villeneuve sandy space saga Dune and 6-time nominee and two-time Academy Award winner Janusz Kaminski with Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story remake, with what looks to be a lot of newcomers to the Oscar conversation. Erik Messerschmidt, an Emmy nominee this year for David Fincher’s Mindhunter, lenses Fincher’s long-awaited Mank and Joshua James Richards’ gorgeous landscapes in Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland are ready to make some waves this season.
Here are my ranked 2021 Oscar predictions in Cinematography for September. [UPDATED to reflect the just announced move of West Side Story to December 2021]
1. Mank (Netflix)
Erik Messerschmidt
2. Dune (Warner Bros) [moved to October 2021]Greig Fraser
3. Nomadland (Searchlight Pictures)
Joshua James Richards
4. News of the World (Universal Pictures)
Dariusz Wolski
5. Judas and the Black Messiah (Warner Bros)
Sean Bobbitt
Other Contenders (alphabetical)
Da 5 Bloods (Netflix)
Newton Thomas Sigel
The Father (Sony Pictures Classics)
Ben Smithard
Hillbilly Elegy (Netflix)
Maryse Alberti
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix)
Tobias A. Schliessler
Mulan (Walt Disney Pictures)
Mandy Walker
No Time to Die (MGM/UA)
Linus Sandgren
One Night in Miami… (Amazon Studios)
Tami Reiker
Tenet (Warner Bros)
Hoyte van Hoytema
The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix)
Phedon Papamichael
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
- Association of Motion Picture Sound (AMPS) Television and Nonfiction Nominations Announced: ‘Adolescence,’ ‘Black Mirror,’ ‘Slow Horses’ and More - March 20, 2026
- Trailer Watch: ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day,’ ‘Dune: Part Three,’ Disclosure Day,’ ‘Wild Horse Nine’ - March 20, 2026
- Six Join 51st Residence of the Festival de Cannes, including Harry Lighton, Mansi Maheshwari, Oliver McGoldrick - March 20, 2026
Director Watch Podcast Ep. 144 – ‘A Matter of Life and Death (Powell and Pressburger, 1946) with Special Guest Jesse Nussman 
Association of Motion Picture Sound (AMPS) Television and Nonfiction Nominations Announced: ‘Adolescence,’ ‘Black Mirror,’ ‘Slow Horses’ and More 
Trailer Watch: ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day,’ ‘Dune: Part Three,’ Disclosure Day,’ ‘Wild Horse Nine’ 
‘Anima’ Review: Sydney Chandler and Takehiro Hira Ground Brian Tetsuro Ivie’s Low-Fi Sci-Fi Road Movie [B+] SXSW