The last guild award ceremony of this long protracted awards season went to the American Society of Cinematographers and they were in a “Mank” mood for the 2021 ASC Awards. Their premiere honor went to Erik Messerschmidt for his work on David Fincher‘s passion project. This was Messerschmidt’s first nomination and win at the ASC Awards and a positive sign as he tries to win his first Oscar for Best Cinematography.
In the history of the ASC’s the honor has only lined up with the Academy Award 50% of the time. That being said, 7 out of the last 10 ASC winners have gone on to take the Oscar since 2010. Messerschmidt‘s primary competition will once again be Joshua James Richards who took the BAFTA in this category for “Nomadland.”
Other recipients of the ASC Award this year included Steven Meizler for “The Queen’s Gambit” in the Motion Picture, Limited Series, or Pilot Made for Television category, Adriano Goldman for “The Crown” in the Hour-Long Television category, and Matthew Jensen for “The Mandalorian” in the Half-Hour Television field.
A complete list of this year’s winners and nominees are as follows:
Feature Film
Erik Messerschmidt, ASC – ***WINNER***
Mank
Phedon Papamichael, ASC, GSC
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Joshua James Richards
Nomadland
Newton Thomas Sigel, ASC
Cherry
Dariusz Wolski, ASC
News of the World
Spotlight
Katelin Arizmendi
Swallow
Aurélien Marra – ***WINNER***
Two of Us
Andrey Naydenov
Dear Comrades!
Documentary
Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw – ***WINNER***
The Truffle Hunters
Viktor Kosakovskiy and Egil Håskjold Larsen
Gunda
Gianfranco Rosi
Notturno
Motion Picture, Limited Series, or Pilot Made for Television
Martin Ahlgren, ASC
The Plot Against America, “Part 6”
Anette Haellmigk
The Great, “The Great”
Pete Konczal
Fargo, “The Birthplace of Civilization”
Steven Meizler – ***WINNER***
The Queen’s Gambit, “End Game”
Gregory Middleton, ASC, CSC
Watchmen, “This Extraordinary Being”
Episode of a One-Hour Television Series – Commercial
Marshall Adams, ASC
Better Call Saul, “Bagman”
Carlos Catalán
Killing Eve, “Meetings Have Biscuits”
François Dagenais, CSC
Project Blue Book, “Area 51”
Jon Joffin, ASC – ***WINNER****
Motherland: Fort Salem, “Up is Down”
C. Kim Miles, ASC, CSC, MySC
Project Blue Book, “Operation Mainbrace”
Episode of a One-Hour Television Series – Non-Commercial
David Franco
Perry Mason, “Chapter 2”
Ken Glassing
Lucifer, “It Never Ends Well for the Chicken”
Adriano Goldman, ASC, ABC, BSC – ***WINNER***
The Crown, “Fairytale”
David Greene, ASC, CSC
Impulse, “The Moroi”
M. David Mullen, ASC
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, “It’s Comedy or Cabbage”
Fabian Wagner, ASC, BSC
The Crown, “Imbroglio”
Episode of a Half-Hour Television Series
Ava Berkofsky
Insecure, “Lowkey Lost”
Greig Fraser, ASC, ACS
The Mandalorian, “Chapter 1: The Mandalorian”
Baz Idoine
The Mandalorian, “Chapter 13: The Jedi”
Matthew Jensen, ASC – ***WINNER***
The Mandalorian, “Chapter 15: The Believer”
Jas Shelton
Homecoming, “Giant”