Rachel Morrison (born April 27, 1978) is an American
cinematographer and director. For her work on ''
Mudbound
''Mudbound'' (2008) is the debut novel by American author Hillary Jordan. It has been translated into French, Italian, Serbian, Norwegian, Swedish, and Turkish and has sold more than 250,000 copies worldwide. The novel took Jordan seven years t ...
'' (2017), Morrison earned a nomination for an
Academy Award for Best Cinematography
The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work on one particular motion picture.
History
In its first film season, 1927–28, this award (like others such as the acting awards) w ...
, making her the first woman ever nominated in that category.
She has twice worked with director
Ryan Coogler
Ryan Kyle Coogler (born May 23, 1986) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is a recipient of four NAACP Image Awards, four Black Reel Awards, a Golden Globe Award nomination and an Academy Award nomination for Best Pictu ...
, working on the films ''
Fruitvale Station
''Fruitvale Station'' is a 2013 American biographical drama film written and directed by Ryan Coogler. It is Coogler's feature directorial debut and is based on the events leading to the death of Oscar Grant, a young man killed in 2009 by Bay ...
'' (2013), and ''
Black Panther'' (2018).
Early life
Morrison took up
photography
Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employe ...
at a young age. She grew up in a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family in
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
, and graduated from
Concord Academy
Concord Academy (also known as CA), established in 1922, is a coeducational, independent college preparatory school for boarding and day students in grades 9-12. The school is situated in Concord, Massachusetts. In 1971, Concord Academy became ...
in 1996. She then attended
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
, where she completed a double major in film and photography because she was unable to choose between the two; by the end of her degree, she had decided to concentrate on
cinematography
Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography.
Cinematographers use a lens to foc ...
.
She then attended the
AFI Conservatory
The AFI Conservatory is a private not-for-profit graduate film school in the Hollywood Hills district of Los Angeles. Students (called "Fellows") learn from the masters in a collaborative, hands-on production environment with an emphasis on st ...
's graduate cinematography program and graduated with a
Master of Fine Arts in 2006.
Career
Morrison began her career in television, working on series and telefilms for a number of networks. Her cinematography on the 2005 television documentary ''Rikers High'', about high school education within the
Rikers Island prison complex, was nominated for an
Emmy Award.
Morrison worked on
''The Hills''''
'' for two years, then shot
Zal Batmanglij
Zal Batmanglij ( Persian: زال باتمانقلیچ; born on April 28, 1981) is an American film director and screenwriter. He directed and co-wrote the 2011 film ''Sound of My Voice'' and the 2013 film '' The East'', both of which premiered at ...
's ''
Sound of My Voice
''Sound of My Voice'' is a 2011 American psychological thriller film directed by Zal Batmanglij in his feature directorial debut and starring Christopher Denham, Nicole Vicius and Brit Marling. The plot focuses on two documentary filmmakers wh ...
'', which premiered at the
2011 Sundance Film Festival.
[ Over the next two years, she photographed '']Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie
''Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie'' is a 2012 American absurdist comedy film starring, written, directed, and produced by the comedy duo Tim & Eric (Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim) in their feature directorial debuts. The plot follows Heide ...
'' and ''Fruitvale Station
''Fruitvale Station'' is a 2013 American biographical drama film written and directed by Ryan Coogler. It is Coogler's feature directorial debut and is based on the events leading to the death of Oscar Grant, a young man killed in 2009 by Bay ...
'', which premiered at Sundance in 2012 and 2013 respectively,[ as well as '' Any Day Now'' (2012), '']Some Girl(s)
''Some Girl(s)'' is a play written by Neil LaBute about a man only identified as "Guy" who is about to get married. Before his wedding, he decides to visit his ex-girlfriends, all of whom he mistreated. His exes include: Sam, his former high scho ...
'' (2013) and '' The Harvest'' (2013).[
At the 2013 ]Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards
A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardle ...
, Morrison was awarded the Kodak Vision Award for her work in cinematography and her collaboration with other women filmmakers. The same year, ''Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' named her as one of the "Up Next" in their Below The Line Impact Report, while ''Indiewire
IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Holl ...
'' named her as one of their "Cinematographers To Watch".
In 2014, she photographed '' Cake'', directed by Daniel Barnz
Daniel Barnz (born 1970) is an American screenwriter and director.
Life and career
Barnz was born Daniel Bernstein in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania,Champagne, Christine"10 Directors to Watch: Daniel Barnz" ''Variety'', 16 January 2008 a suburb of Phil ...
, which she followed up with the 2015 film '' Dope''. ''Dope'' premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival
The 2015 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 22 to February 1, 2015. '' What Happened, Miss Simone?'', a biographical documentary film about American singer Nina Simone, opened the festival. Comedy-drama film '' Grandma'', directed by ...
, making it Morrison's seventh film to screen at the annual festival in six consecutive years.
2014 marked Morrison's first foray into directing, as she was offered the chance to direct an episode of the television series '' American Crime'', which aired in 2015.[ In 2017 she became a member of the ]American Society of Cinematographers
The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), founded in Hollywood in 1919, is a cultural, educational, and professional organization that is neither a labor union nor a guild. The society was organized to advance the science and art of cinem ...
.
Morrison was the cinematographer for Dee Rees
Diandrea Rees (born February 7, 1977) is an American screenwriter and director. She is known for her feature films '' Pariah'' (2011), '' Bessie'' (2015), '' Mudbound'' (2017), and '' The Last Thing He Wanted'' (2020). Rees has also written and d ...
's 2017 film ''Mudbound
''Mudbound'' (2008) is the debut novel by American author Hillary Jordan. It has been translated into French, Italian, Serbian, Norwegian, Swedish, and Turkish and has sold more than 250,000 copies worldwide. The novel took Jordan seven years t ...
''.[New York Film Critics Circle Awards: Willem Dafoe Wins Supporting Actor, ‘Mudbound’ DP Makes History – Variety](_blank)
/ref> For her work on the film, Morrison became the first woman to win the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cinematographer The New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cinematographer is one of the annual awards given by the New York Film Critics Circle.
List of winners
Notes
*≠ Oscar nominee
*≈ Oscar winner
See also
*Academy Award for Best Cinematography
...
, the first woman to be nominated for the feature category of the American Society of Cinematographers Outstanding Achievement Awards, and the first woman ever nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography
The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work on one particular motion picture.
History
In its first film season, 1927–28, this award (like others such as the acting awards) w ...
.
Morrison served as cinematographer for Marvel
Marvel may refer to:
Business
* Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company
** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment
** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe
** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics
* ...
's '' Black Panther'' (2018).
Personal life
Morrison married Rachel Garza in December 2011. They have one son, who was born in 2014, and a daughter born in 2018.
Filmography
Film
As director
* ''Flint Strong
''The Fire Inside'' is an upcoming American biographical sports film by Rachel Morrison in her feature directional debut. The film is based on ''T-Rex'', a 2015 documentary about American professional boxer Claressa "T-Rex" Shields training for ...
'' (TBA)
Television
As cinematographer
As director
Other awards
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison, Rachel
1978 births
American cinematographers
20th-century American Jews
LGBT people from California
Living people
Tisch School of the Arts alumni
AFI Conservatory alumni
American women cinematographers
Concord Academy alumni
LGBT people from Massachusetts
People from Cambridge, Massachusetts
New York University alumni
21st-century American Jews