Rachel Morrison | |
|---|---|
 Morrison at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival | |
| Born | April 27, 1978 Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Education | Concord Academy |
| Alma mater | |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Spouse |
Rachel Garza (m. 2011) |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | www |
Rachel Morrison (born April 27, 1978)[1] is an American cinematographer and director.
For her work on Mudbound (2017), Morrison became the first woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography.[2][3]
Morrison also made her feature film directorial debut with the biographical sports drama The Fire Inside (2024).[4]
Early life
Morrison grew up in a Jewish family[5] in Cambridge, Massachusetts,[6] and graduated from Concord Academy in 1996.[7]
She took up photography at a young age, and attended New York University, where she completed a double major in film and photography because she was unable to choose between the two; by the end of her degree, she had decided to concentrate on cinematography.[8] She then attended the AFI Conservatory's graduate cinematography program and graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in 2006.[9] In 2018, Morrison was awarded with the 28th Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal awarded to alumni of the AFI Conservatory.[10]
Career
Morrison began her career in television, working on series and telefilms for a number of networks. Her cinematography on the 2005 television documentary Rikers High, about high school education within the Rikers Island prison complex, was nominated for an Emmy Award.[11][8]
Morrison worked on The Hills[12] for two years, then shot Zal Batmanglij's Sound of My Voice, which premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.[12] Over the next two years, she photographed Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie and Fruitvale Station, which premiered at Sundance in 2012 and 2013 respectively,[12] as well as Any Day Now (2012), Some Girl(s) (2013) and The Harvest (2013).[11]
At the 2013 Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards, Morrison was awarded the Kodak Vision Award for her work in cinematography and her collaboration with other women filmmakers.[11] The same year, Variety named her as one of the "Up Next" in their Below The Line Impact Report,[13] while Indiewire named her as one of their "Cinematographers To Watch".[12]
In 2014, she photographed Cake, directed by Daniel Barnz,[14] which she followed up with the 2015 film Dope. Dope premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, making it Morrison's seventh film to screen at the annual festival in six consecutive years.[15]
2014 marked Morrison's first foray into directing, as she was offered the chance to direct an episode of the television series American Crime, which aired in 2015.[15] In 2017 she became a member of the American Society of Cinematographers.[16]
Morrison was the cinematographer for Dee Rees's 2017 film Mudbound.[17] For her work on the film, Morrison became the first woman to win the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cinematographer,[17] the first woman to be nominated for the feature category of the American Society of Cinematographers Outstanding Achievement Awards,[18] and the first woman ever nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography.[2]
Morrison served as cinematographer for Marvel's Black Panther (2018).[3]
On June 19, 2019, it was announced Morrison would make her directorial debut on Flint Strong,[19] which was later retitled The Fire Inside and released in 2024.[4]
In March 2023, Morrison directed an episode of the Star Wars streaming series The Mandalorian season 3.[20] In 2025, she began directing the film Love of Your Life, starring Margaret Qualley, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Aaron Pierre and Gabriel Basso.[21]
Personal life
Morrison married Rachel Garza in December 2011. They have a son, who was born in 2014,[22][23] and a daughter born in 2018.[24]
Filmography
Cinematographer
Feature film
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Palo Alto | Brad Leong |
| 2011 | Sound of My Voice | Zal Batmanglij |
| Dorfman in Love | Brad Leong | |
| 2012 | Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie | Tim Heidecker Eric Wareheim |
| Any Day Now | Travis Fine | |
| 2013 | Fruitvale Station | Ryan Coogler |
| Some Girl(s) | Daisy von Scherler Mayer | |
| The Harvest | John McNaughton | |
| 2014 | Little Accidents | Sara Colangelo |
| Druid Peak | Marni Zelnick | |
| Cake | Daniel Barnz | |
| 2015 | Dope | Rick Famuyiwa |
| 2017 | Mudbound | Dee Rees |
| 2018 | Black Panther | Ryan Coogler |
| 2019 | Seberg | Benedict Andrews |
| 2021 | Absolutely Accidental | Jake Schick |
Television
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003–2009 | Room Raiders | ||
| 2007 | Newport Harbor: The Real Orange County | Gary Shaffer | |
| 2008–2009 | The Hills | Hisham Abed | 24 episodes |
| 2011 | Funny or Die Presents... | Ken Marino Matt Piedmont Jordan Vogt-Roberts |
1 episode |
| 2020 | Homemade | Herself | Episode "The Lucky Ones" |
| 2021 | VAX LIVE: The Concert to Reunite the World | Ryan Polito | TV special |
TV movies
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Confirmation | Rick Famuyiwa |
| 2023 | Play is your superpower | Ellen Kuras |
Director
Film
- The Fire Inside (2024)
- Love of Your Life (TBA)
Television
| Year | Title | Episode(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Quantico | "Kill" |
| 2015–2016 | American Crime | Episode 8 |
| Season 2: Episode 5 | ||
| 2020 | Homemade | "The Lucky Ones" (Also writer) |
| 2020–2021 | Hightown | "Love You Like a Sister" |
| "Severely Weatherbeaten" | ||
| "Great White" | ||
| "Girl Power" | ||
| 2021 | The Morning Show | "A Private Person" |
| American Crime Story | "Stand by Your Man" | |
| "The Grand Jury" | ||
| 2023 | The Mandalorian | "Chapter 18: The Mines of Mandalore" |
| 2025 | The Savant | "Crossing a Line" |
| Episode 5 |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Title | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | News and Documentary Emmy Awards | Outstanding Achievement in a Craft: Cinematography | Rikers High | Nominated | [8] |
| 2013 | Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards | Kodak Vision Award | N/a | Won | |
| 2016 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program | What Happened, Miss Simone? |
Nominated | |
| 2017 | New York Film Critics Circle | Best Cinematographer | Mudbound | Won | [17] |
| Academy Awards | Best Cinematography | Nominated | [25] | ||
| American Society of Cinematographers | Outstanding Cinematography | Nominated | [18] | ||
| Critics' Choice Movie Awards | Best Cinematography | Nominated | [26] | ||
| Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society | Best Cinematography | Nominated | |||
| Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association | Best Cinematography | Nominated | |||
| 2018 | Satellite Awards | Best Cinematography | Black Panther | Nominated |
References
- ↑ "Rachel Morrison". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2015. Archived from the original on February 7, 2015. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
- 1 2 Tapley, Kristopher (September 12, 2017). "Oscars: 'Mudbound' Cinematographer Is First Female Nominated – Variety". Variety.com. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
- 1 2 Valentini, Valentina I (November 16, 2017). "'Mudbound' Cinematographer Captures Look of '40s South With Digital Cameras". Variety. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
- 1 2 Vlessing, Etan (September 7, 2024). "'The Fire Inside' Director Rachel Morrison on Upending Sports Movie Conventions". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
- ↑ Bloom, Nate (March 22, 2018). "'Black Panther' cinematographer is the first woman nominated for an Oscar in her field". The Jewish News of Northern California.
- ↑ "Behind the Camera on 'Fruitvale Station'"
- ↑ "Rachel Morrison ’96: An Authentic Career"
- 1 2 3 "ONFILM Interview: Rachel Morrison". Kodak. September 13, 2013. Archived from the original on February 7, 2015. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
- ↑ "AFI Member Marquee". American Film Institute. February 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
- ↑ "Rachel Morrison To Receive The American Film Institute's 28th Annual Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal". American Film Institute. April 26, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Rachel Morrison to Receive WIF Kodak Vision Award". Kodak. April 29, 2013. Archived from the original on February 11, 2015. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 Lyttelton, Oliver (January 31, 2013). "On The Rise: 5 Cinematographers To Watch In 2013". Indiewire. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
- ↑ "PHOTOS: Below the Line Impact Report – Cinematographers". Variety. August 14, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
- ↑ Workman, Matt (January 22, 2015). "The Cinematography of Cake with DP Rachel Morrison". Cinematography Database. Archived from the original on February 11, 2015. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
- 1 2 Bernstein, Paula (January 23, 2015). "Rachel Morrison on Her Two Sundance 2015 Films and Being Pegged as a 'Female DP'". Indiewire. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
- ↑ Instagram 17 March 2017.
- 1 2 3 New York Film Critics Circle Awards: Willem Dafoe Wins Supporting Actor, ‘Mudbound’ DP Makes History – Variety
- 1 2 "2018 American Society of Cinematographers Awards Nominations". Hollywood Reporter. January 9, 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
- ↑ Kroll, Justin (June 19, 2018). "'Black Panther' DP Rachel Morrison to Make Directorial Debut on Barry Jenkins Script 'Flint Strong'". Variety. Archived from the original on November 26, 2019. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
- ↑ Couch, Aaron (January 16, 2023). "'The Mandalorian' Reveals Season 3 Trailer, New Directors". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
- ↑ Kit, Borys (August 19, 2025). "Gabriel Basso Joins Margaret Qualley in Romantic Drama 'Love of Your Life' (Exclusive)". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 19, 2025.
- ↑ Giardina, Carolyn (January 23, 2018). "Rachel Morrison Becomes First Woman Nominated for a Cinematography Oscar". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
- ↑ Bendix, Trish (December 9, 2008). "Lesbian cinematographer Rachel Morrison brings us "A Non-Issue?"". AfterEllen. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
- ↑ "Rachel Morrison, ASC. on Instagram: "Welcome Cleo Miró Morrison. Born 8/28/18 at 101PM. 6 lbs 18.5 inches. Needless to say, we are already madly in love..."". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
- ↑ Joey Nolfi. "Oscars: Rachel Morrison first woman nominated for cinematography". EW.com. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
- ↑ Pedersen, Erik; Hammond, Pete (December 6, 2017). "Critics' Choice Awards Nominations: 'The Shape Of Water' Leads With 14 Nods; Netflix Tops TV Contenders". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 6, 2017.