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 photographing films such as Animal Kingdom, Snowtown, McFarland, USA and Assassin's Creed. He is known for his collaborations with director Justin Kurzel, whom he worked with on Snowtown and Macbeth, and also Assassin's Creed, which was released in December 2016.

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 upcoming 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

He is married to American cinematographer Autumn Durald; the couple has one son, Aedan.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleDirectorNotes
2010Animal KingdomDavid Michôd
2011SnowtownJustin Kurzel
2012LoreCate Shortland
2015McFarland, USANiki Caro
2015MacbethJustin Kurzel
2016The Light Between OceansDerek Cianfrance
2016Assassin's CreedJustin Kurzel
2019Light of My LifeCasey Affleck
2019The KingDavid Michôd

Television