Inspiration – 40th ASC Awards: A Round-Up of the Winners

Series	Inspiration: Find Your Spark!

Inspiration: Cinematographers and filmmakers honored at this year’s ceremony

The American Society of Cinematographers held its 40th annual Outstanding Achievement Awards on March 8, 2026 at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills. The ceremony, hosted by actor Kerri Kenney-Silver and opened by ASC President Mandy Walker, honored cinematography across theatrical features, episodic television, documentary, and music video. A rare tie in the one-hour series category marked the evening. What follows is a round-up of the competitive winners, with sample footage and resources for further reading.

I’ve also added details about the ‘supporting cast’ when we’ve been able to confirm through articles or IMDb. If we’ve made attribution mistakes, please let us know through the support page (or the comments below), and we’ll update.

THEATRICAL FEATURE FILM

Michael Bauman – One Battle After Another

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson | Warner Bros.

Colorist: Gregg Garvin, Roundabout Entertainment · Photochemical Timing: Don Capoferri & Alex Lake, FotoKem · Editor: Andy Jurgensen · Lab: FotoKem

Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another – a political action thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a burnt-out revolutionary searching for his missing daughter – was shot on VistaVision, an 8-perf horizontal 35mm format that had been largely dormant since 1961. Bauman, who first worked with Anderson as a gaffer on The Master and later as a lighting cameraman on Phantom Thread, serves here as full cinematographer on his fifth collaboration with the director.

The production used vintage VistaVision cameras – the primary body was a Beaumont restored by actor and collector Giovanni Ribisi – alongside prototype prime lenses custom-built by Panavision’s Dan Sasaki and engineering team. The shoot burned through 1.5 million feet of film, with each 1,000-foot VistaVision magazine running only four to five minutes versus eleven minutes for standard 35mm.

The post workflow was as unusual as the production: FotoKem processed the negative daily, struck traditional answer prints for nightly screenings with a VistaVision projector on location, and delivered digital dailies color-graded in P3 color space. Gregg Garvin performed the final digital grade at Roundabout Entertainment, working in parallel with the photochemical timing process – each informing the other.

“We knew what the location was, but there were so many factors and elements that would happen during the day that we just incorporated into the workflow… We could just see as scenes evolved, and run with them a bit.”

Michael Bauman, speaking to MovieMaker

“The format just really pulls into the story tighter. It almost creates hyper-realistic imagery. It’s not just marketing hype speak: the differences are more than subtle, and it connects you with the film in different ways.”

Michael Bauman, speaking to Smithsonian Magazine

Publisher’s note: At the time of writing, Bauman has also won the BAFTA and BSC Award for this film, and is among the Oscar nominees for Best Cinematography. The ASC’s Theatrical Feature winner has gone on to claim the Oscar roughly half the time in the award’s 39-year history.

Resources

HALF-HOUR SERIES – “The Oner”

Adam Newport-Berra – The Studio

Colorist: Damien Vandercruyssen, Harbor · Editor: Eric Kissack · Camera Op: Mark Goellnicht