Autumn Durald Arkapaw, Oscar award winning cinematographer and LMU alumni visited campus and talked to students about her work in film and art history. The event was held on Oct. 1 in the Murphy Recital Hall where she was interviewed by Dean Alexander of Communication and Fine Arts, followed by a reception outside in the quad.
Durald Arkapaw was the first woman of color to be nominated and win the Oscar for Best Cinematographer for Sinners (Coogler, 2025). She also worked on music videos, T.V. and has worked with prestigious directors such as Gia Coppola. Before she went into cinematography, she studied art history here at LMU.
The talk consisted of two parts; first Dean Alexander interviewed Durald Arkapaw and a Q&A where students asked her questions. Students were very enthusiastic and invested in her work.
Students were absolutely thrilled to be able to talk with Durald Arkapaw. Students lined up to ask questions, and the line went all the way up the stairs. There were so many students that eventually event staff had to cut the line off due limited time. When Durald Arkapaw came out during the reception, she was swarmed by students who all wanted a chance to pick her mind. Dean Alexander instructed students to ask quicker questions, Durald Arkapaw took her time talking to each person and giving descriptive answers.
Students from all over the film program asked her questions about their specific fields. A screenwriting student asked her about what cinematographers look for in a good screenplay, to which she answered, “I think it’s like it’s really being vulnerable and putting yourself into the work, but then also, you know, you know, the emotion you’re writing, you’re writing a motion, and it’s about how well you do that.”
A production student asked her about how one gets confident in their abilities as a DP. her answers had to do with putting your personal and creative vision into the work you are doing. She said “Learn everything you can about anything that you’re going to use. But at the bottom line, it’s about emotion…if you don’t infuse the right emotion into that work, no one’s going to care about it because it’s going to feel stiff. It’s going to feel technical…it’s just a machine..some stuff runs through it to tell a story. But you have to know how to tell a story.”
She also repeated multiple times that respect is important. “…you’re in college now, and I can’t say the word respect enough…I feel like that’s such an important thing to remember when you decide to like collaborate with others and give your time and your soul to an artistic project that the respect has to be there.”
Most importantly, Durald Arkapaw had a lot to say about putting yourself in the communities you want to be in. “I believe that…the community that you decide to contribute to means the world, and it affects like who you are as a person. It affects your art…it affects so many things.”
Students at LMU very much appreciated being able to talk to Durald Arkapaw and being able to talk to a great cinematographer with great experience.
