Adam Arkapaw


Adam Arkapaw is an Australian cinematographer. He is best known for his work on the television series Top of the Lake and True Detective, for which he has won two Creative Arts Emmy Awards. He is also known for his collaborations with director Justin Kurzel, whom he worked with on Snowtown, Macbeth, and Assassin's Creed.

Early life

Arkapaw was born in Bowral, a New South Wales town south of Sydney, and attended Bowral High School. He studied at the University of Melbourne's Victorian College of the Arts, graduating in 2006 with a Bachelor of Film and Television.

Career

In addition to numerous short films, Arkapaw photographed three Australian features over the next several years: Animal Kingdom, Snowtown, and Lore. He received a nomination for the AACTA Award for Best Cinematography in 2010 for his work on Animal Kingdom and in 2011 he was named one of Variety magazine's "10 Cinematographers to Watch".
Arkawpaw next worked on Jane Campion's television miniseries Top of the Lake, which was filmed in New Zealand and broadcast in 2013. That year he won a Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries or Movie. In 2014 he won his second Emmy Award, for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series, in recognition of his work on the HBO television series True Detective. True Detective was filmed in Louisiana and Arkapaw's cinematography received wide praise, especially for a six-minute single-take long take that was planned over months and took one and a half days to film.
Arkapaw was the cinematographer of the 2015 film Macbeth, directed by Justin Kurzel, with whom Arkapaw previously worked on Snowtown. He also photographed McFarland, USA, an American sports film released in 2015, and the drama film The Light Between Oceans. He collaborated with Kurzel for a third time on the action-adventure film Assassin's Creed, which was released in the United States in December 2016.

Personal life

Arkapaw is married to American cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw. They have one child.

Filmography

Shorts

Documentary features

Feature fiction

Television

Awards

AwardYearCategoryNominated workResult
AACTA Awards2012Best CinematographySnowtown
AACTA Awards2013Best CinematographyLore
AACTA Awards2014Best Cinematography in TelevisionTop of the LakeWon
AACTA Awards2015Byron Kennedy AwardAdam ArkapawWon
AACTA Awards2019Best CinematographyThe KingWon
ASC Awards2015Spotlight AwardMacbethWon
Australian Film Institute Awards2006Outstanding Achievement in Short Film Screen CraftEnd of Town
Australian Film Institute Awards2010Best CinematographyAnimal Kingdom
British Independent Film Awards2015Best Technical AchievementMacbeth
Manaki Film Festival2015Silver Camera 300MacbethWon
Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards2013Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited or Anthology Series or MovieTop of the LakeWon
Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards2014 Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera SeriesTrue DetectiveWon
Stockholm International Film Festival2012Best CinematographyLoreWon