Rodrigo Prieto Stambaugh, ASC, AMC (born November 23, 1965), is a Mexican

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

and

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

. He has collaborated with

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

and

Alejandro González Iñárritu Alejandro González Iñárritu (born 15 August 1963) is a Mexican filmmaker primarily known for making modern psychological drama (film genre), psychological drama films about the human condition. His most notable films include ''Amores perros ...

, among other prominent directors. He is a member of both the Mexican Society of Cinematographers and 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 ...

. Throughout his career, Prieto has received many awards and nominations, including four Academy Award nominations for Best Cinematography in

Ang Lee Ang Lee (; born October 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese filmmaker. His films are known for their emotional charge and exploration of repressed, hidden emotions. During his career, he has received international critical and popular acclaim and List o ...

's ''

Brokeback Mountain ''Brokeback Mountain'' is a 2005 American neo-Western romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee and produced by Diana Ossana and James Schamus. Adapted from Brokeback Mountain (short story), the 1997 short story by Annie Proulx, the screenplay ...

'' (2005) and Martin Scorsese's ''

Silence Silence is the absence of ambient hearing, audible sound, the emission of sounds of such low sound intensity, intensity that they do not draw attention to themselves, or the state of having ceased to produce sounds; this latter sense can be exten ...

'' (2016), ''

The Irishman ''The Irishman'' (also known as ''I Heard You Paint Houses'') is a 2019 American epic gangster film directed and produced by Martin Scorsese from a screenplay by Steven Zaillian, based on the 2004 book '' I Heard You Paint Houses'' by Charl ...

'' (2019), and ''Killers of the Flower Moon'' (2023).

Early life and education

Rodrigo Prieto was born in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, Mexico. His grandfather, Jorge Prieto Laurens, was the mayor of Mexico City and leader of the

Chamber of Deputies of Mexico The Chamber of Deputies ( Spanish: , ) is the lower house of the Congress of the Union, the bicameral parliament of Mexico. The other chamber is the Senate. The structure and responsibilities of both chambers of Congress are defined in Article ...

, but was later persecuted by the country's ruler because of political differences. Prieto's grandfather escaped with his family to Texas and then to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, where Prieto's father would spend most of his childhood. Prieto's father studied

aeronautical engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

at New York University, where he met and married Prieto's mother, an artist. Rodrigo Prieto graduated from

Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica The Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica (CCC) is a film school belonging to Mexico's Secretariat of Culture. It was founded in 1975 with the aim of providing technical and artistic training for those entering the film industry. The CCC is p ...

in Mexico City.

Career

Prieto is noted for his unconventional use of the camera often combined with strong moody lighting. In ''25th Hour'', Prieto utilized overexposure and other techniques to create original dream-like images to signify that the events shown on screen are memories or visions. Similarly innovative photography could be spotted in ''

Frida Frida, Frieda, or Freida may refer to: People and fictional characters *Frida (given name), any of several people or characters ** *Frieda (surname), any of several people or characters *Afroditi Frida (born 1964), Greek singer *Frida (singer) ...

'', featuring strong colors and sharp imagery blended with atmospheric yellows and browns, as well as his experimental use of infrared during a battle scene in ''

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

''. Prieto also is interested in evoking naturalism, most evident in '' The Homesman'' and ''

''. Prieto not only shot ''Brokeback Mountain'', for which he was nominated 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 ...

, but appeared in a cameo role within the film as a Mexican gigolo whom

Jake Gyllenhaal Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal ( , ; born December 19, 1980) is an American actor who has worked on screen and stage for over thirty years. Born into the Gyllenhaal family, he is the son of film director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi ...

's character,

Jack Twist Jack Twist is a fictional character in the short story "Brokeback Mountain" by Annie Proulx, the 2005 Academy Award-winning film adaptation of the same name directed by Ang Lee, and the 2023 play by Ashley Robinson also adapted from the short ...

, meets. Prieto has formed an artistic collaboration with

on his films '' The Wolf of Wall Street'', ''

'', ''

'', and '' Killers of the Flower Moon''. He garnered

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

nominations for Best Cinematography for the latter three. He served as cinematographer for the music videos for the three

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...

2020 singles, " The Man", which references one of his previous films '' The Wolf of Wall Street'', " Cardigan" and "

Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

". Prieto is the recipient of the 2021 Vilcek Prize in Filmmaking, awarded by the

Vilcek Foundation The Vilcek Foundation is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit organization. The foundation's programs include the Vilcek Foundation Prizes. The Foundation was established in 2000 by Ján Vilček, Jan and Marica Vilcek, Immigrants to the ...

. In October 2023, Prieto served as a juror at the

Morelia International Film Festival The Morelia International Film Festival (''Spanish'': ''Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia''; FICM) was founded in 2003 in the city of Morelia, Michoacán, México. It is an annual event that takes place during the second week of October. ...

Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo, is one of the 31 states which, together with Mexico City, compose the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The stat ...

, Mexico.

Personal life

Prieto resides in

, California with his wife Monica and they have two daughters.

Filmography

Feature film

Television

Documentary series TV series

Music video

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

BAFTA Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best Cinema of the United Kingdom, British and Worl ...

American Society of Cinematographers Awards 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 ...

Camerimage Other awards

References

External links

Interview with Prieto
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prieto, Rodrigo 1965 births Mexican emigrants to the United States Best Cinematography Ariel Award winners Living people Mexican cinematographers Mexican film directors Mass media people from Mexico City