James Laxton
James Laxton is an American cinematographer best known for his collaborations with filmmaker Barry Jenkins, specifically his work on Jenkins' 2016 film Moonlight, for which he won an Independent Spirit Award and received his first Academy Award nomination.
He started his career at Florida State University where he met his often collaborator, Barry Jenkins. The relationship built in college has led them to shoot countless films including the 2016 film Moonlight which was the recipient of multiple awards and nominations since the film's release. After graduating from University, Laxton began his work in the industry by assisting the camera department on features and shorts while also taking on other projects from Directors like David Nordstrom, David Parker, Cole Schreiber and many more. His childhood of joining his mother onset was key in his decision to join the camera department. The rhythm of set, how total chaos would ensue and then settle with a single action. only for the director to call cut and for the mania to continue. Moments like this were key in inspiring a young James Laxton to think of a career in the film industry as an option.
Filmography
Feature Films
Moonlight
Arguably his most critically acclaimed film was Moonlight directed by Barry Jenkins. The film takes themes of sexuality and explores them in a harsher urban environment. The Cinematography of Moonlight took contemporary film-making and put a new lens on it. With a relatively low budget of 1.5 million dollars, there weren't a lot of resources that were able to be spent on tings like underwater camera gear for example. However, challenges like these made it possible for Jenkins and Laxton to think outside of the box on how they would be able to pull certain shots off. This ingenuity gives birth to the cinematic language of the film and it projects boldly with every scene. All of the time you spend with the main character of the film, Juan, played by Mahershala Ali feels like you experience what he does in a very naturalistic and genuine way.If Beale Street Could Talk
After the commercial success of Moonlight, the next film for the two filmmakers would be a tragic love story between Tish Rivers played by KiKi Layne and a wood artist Alonzo 'Fonny' Hunt played by Stephan James as they meet begin to build a life together until Fonny is accused of a crime he didn't commit. From this point on, Tish is doing every that she can in order to set her love free. With the film being biased on a novel by James Baldwin, there are often times where the cinematography feels "novel-like" this to mean that you often lose yourself in any given scene and how intricately the characters traits and emotions intertwine with one another. "To find and fine-tune the precise visual grammar of Baldwin’s mastery Jenkins followed a process that served him so well with his previous Oscar-winner. One of the keys to “Moonlight” transcending the limitations of its $1.5 million budget – trading docu-realism for crafted visual poetry of the highest level". The language that Jenkins and Laxton created for Moonlight creates a look well beyond the low budget and shed more light on the verite style cinematography.| Year | Film | Director | Notes |
| 2008 | Medicine for Melancholy | Barry Jenkins | Nominated – Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography |
| 2010 | The Violent Kind | The Butcher Brothers | |
| 2010 | The Myth of the American Sleepover | David Robert Mitchell | |
| 2011 | Karma: Do You Believe? | Adivi Sesh | |
| 2011 | The Last Buffalo Hunt | Lee Anne Schmitt | |
| 2011 | Sawdust City | David Nordstrom | |
| 2012 | California Solo | Marshall Lewy | |
| 2012 | For a Good Time, Call... | Jamie Travis | |
| 2012 | Leave Me Like You Found Me | Adele Romanski | |
| 2012 | The Murder of Hi Good | Lee Lynch | |
| 2013 | Bad Milo | Jacob Vaughan | |
| 2013 | The Moment | Jane Weinstock | |
| 2013 | Dealin' with Idiots | Jeff Garlin | |
| 2013 | Adult World | Scott Coffey | |
| 2013 | Tradition Is a Temple: The Modern Masters of New Orleans | Darren Hoffman | |
| 2014 | Camp X-Ray | Peter Sattler | |
| 2014 | Tusk | Kevin Smith | |
| 2016 | Yoga Hosers | Kevin Smith | |
| 2016 | Holidays | Nicholas McCarthy | Segment – "Easter", also with Bridger Nielson and Shaheen Seth |
| 2016 | The Black Jacket | Ryan Simon | |
| 2016 | Moonlight | Barry Jenkins | Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cinematography San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cinematography Nominated – Academy Award for Best Cinematography Nominated – American Society of Cinematographers Award for Outstanding Cinematography Nominated – Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography Nominated – Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Cinematography Nominated – San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography Nominated – St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography Nominated – Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography |
| 2016 | Youth | Brett Marty | |
| 2017 | Anything | Timothy McNeil | |
| 2018 | If Beale Street Could Talk | Barry Jenkins | Nominated – Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography |