American Society of Cinematographers • Est. 1919 • Awards since 1986

ASC Awards

The American Society of Cinematographers Outstanding Achievement Awards are the definitive peer recognition in cinematography. ASC membership — by invitation only — is among the highest honours in the camera department. The initials “ASC” after a DP’s name represent a career milestone. The annual awards cover feature film, television drama, television movie and limited series, documentary, and commercial cinematography — making them the most comprehensive guild award in the discipline.

Feature Film TV Drama — One Hour TV Movie or Mini-Series Documentary Commercial
1919
ASC Founded
1986
First ASC Awards
4
Deakins ASC Feature Awards
3
Lubezki Consecutive Feature Awards
Invite
Only Membership

About the ASC Award: Unlike the Oscar, which is voted on by all Academy members, the ASC Award is peer-voted — only ASC members vote. This makes it arguably more meaningful to working cinematographers, as it represents the specific judgment of their craft colleagues. The ASC Feature Film Award and the Oscar for Best Cinematography align in most recent years, but when they diverge it marks a genuine split in industry opinion.

Feature Film — Complete Winners Archive

Outstanding Achievement — Feature Film

The ASC’s most prestigious category. Winners spanning 2010–2025, with Oscar alignment noted.

Year Cinematographer Film Oscar?
2025 Lol Crawley BSC The Brutalist ASC + Oscar
2024 Hoyte van Hoytema NSC FSF ASC Oppenheimer ASC + Oscar
2023 James Friend BSC All Quiet on the Western Front ASC + Oscar
2022 Greig Fraser ACS ASC Dune ASC + Oscar
2021 Erik Messerschmidt ASC Mank ASC + Oscar
2020 Roger Deakins CBE ASC BSC 1917 ASC + Oscar
2019 Alfonso Cuarón Roma ASC + Oscar
2018 Roger Deakins CBE ASC BSC Blade Runner 2049 ASC + Oscar
2017 Linus Sandgren FSF ASC La La Land ASC + Oscar
2016 Emmanuel Lubezki AMC ASC The Revenant ASC + Oscar
2015 Emmanuel Lubezki AMC ASC Birdman ASC + Oscar
2014 Emmanuel Lubezki AMC ASC Gravity ASC + Oscar
2013 Claudio Miranda ASC Life of Pi ASC + Oscar
2012 Guillaume Schiffman AFC The Artist Oscar: Robert Richardson (Hugo)
2011 Wally Pfister ASC Inception ASC + Oscar
2010 Mauro Fiore ASC Avatar ASC + Oscar
TV Drama — One Hour

Outstanding Achievement — TV Drama Series (One Hour)

The ASC’s television drama category has tracked the rise of prestige streaming and cinematic TV — with Game of Thrones, Succession, and The Crown dominating the last decade.

Year Cinematographer Episode & Series
2025 Martin Ruhe ASC BVK Shōgun — “Restore Heaven”
2024 Andrij Parekh ASC Succession — “Connor’s Wedding”
2023 Tat Radcliffe BSC The Crown — “Maundy”
2022 Ari Wegner ACS The Power of the Dog (TV Movie/Limited)
2021 Fabian Wagner ASC BSC Game of Thrones — “The Long Night”
2020 Barry Ackroyd BSC Chernobyl
2019 Greig Fraser ACS ASC The Mandalorian — “Chapter 1”
2018 Robert McLachlan ASC CSC Game of Thrones — “Beyond the Wall”
TV Movie or Mini-Series

Outstanding Achievement — TV Movie or Mini-Series

Year Cinematographer Production
2025 Pablo Berron AEC Ripley
2024 Adriano Goldman ASC ABC Fellow Travelers
2023 Jo Willems SBC ASC Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
2022 Ari Wegner ACS The Power of the Dog
2021 Pepe Avila del Pino I May Destroy You
About ASC Membership

The Meaning of ASC Membership

Why the three letters after a cinematographer’s name matter as much as any award they win.

Invitation-Only Membership
Peer recognition • Active + Associate Members
ASC membership cannot be applied for — it is extended by invitation from the existing membership to cinematographers who have demonstrated exceptional achievement and commitment to the craft. Active members are working DPs; associate members include directors, producers, and technologists who have contributed to the cinematographic art. Many of the world’s greatest DPs spend their entire careers without receiving an invitation — it is not a reflection of skill so much as the small size and selective nature of the society.
Membership by invitation only • Los Angeles
International Affiliates
BSC, ACS, CSC, BVK, AFC, SBC and more
The ASC is the founding society in a global network of national cinematographer societies. The British Society of Cinematographers (BSC), the Australian Cinematographers Society (ACS), and the Canadian Society of Cinematographers (CSC) among others maintain their own membership standards and award programs. Many leading DPs hold membership in multiple societies — Roger Deakins is both ASC and BSC; Greig Fraser is both ACS and ASC — reflecting careers that span multiple countries and industries.
Global network • Over 20 affiliated societies
The ASC Manual
Technical Reference • Published since 1935
The American Cinematographer Manual is the definitive technical reference of the profession — a comprehensive guide to exposure, lenses, cameras, formats, lighting, and workflow that has been updated through eleven editions since 1935. It is the textbook used in film schools worldwide and the reference kept on the shelves of working DPs. Its existence is itself a statement about the ASC’s role as a technical as well as artistic guild.
Published since 1935 • 11 editions • Industry standard reference