In 1917, which cinematographer won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography?

Roger Deakins won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for 1917.

Directed by Sam Mendes, 1917 follows two young British soldiers ordered to cross enemy territory in France during the First World War. Their mission is to deliver a message that could prevent a planned attack and save approximately 1,600 soldiers.

The film was designed to appear as one continuous shot, although it was created from many separate takes joined through digital effects, movement, darkness, and carefully positioned objects. Deakins collaborated closely with Mendes and the production team to choreograph camera movement across trenches, ruins, fields, and waterways.

The cinematography Oscar was Deakins’s second win after a long career that included The Shawshank Redemption, No Country for Old Men, and Blade Runner 2049. 1917 won three Academy Awards from 10 nominations. Its apparent single-shot design is sometimes described as a literal uninterrupted take, but it is more accurately a carefully concealed series of digitally connected shots.