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Mandy Walker

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mandy Walker
Born1963 (age 60–61)
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Mandy Walker AM, ACS, ASC (born 1963),[1] is an Australian cinematographer. She is best known for the films Mulan, Hidden Figures and Elvis, the latter of which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography.[2][3] She was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours.

Life and career

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Born and raised in Melbourne, Victoria, Walker became interested in photography while a student in high school.[1] After graduation she studied film criticism and cinema studies with John Flaus, who introduced her to several people working in the industry. She apprenticed as an unpaid assistant on several documentaries and music videos before shooting her first feature film, Return Home, at the age of twenty-five.[1] Additional screen credits include Parklands, The Well, Lantana, Australian Rules, Shattered Glass, and Australia. Her television credits include the Australian Broadcasting Corporation series Raw FM.

Walker has filmed commercials for Nike, Toyota, Caltex, Cingular Wireless, Foxwoods Casino and, most notably, the spot for Chanel No. 5 directed by Baz Luhrmann and featuring Nicole Kidman.

The Australian Cinematographers Society honoured Walker with their Award of Distinction for Parklands and Lantana.[1] She was nominated for the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Achievement in Cinematography for The Well, the Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Cinematography for The Well and Lantana, and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography for Shattered Glass.[1]

Walker was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for "significant service to film as a cinematographer, and to professional societies" in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours.[4]

On 4 December 2022, she became the first woman to win a cinematography award at the AACTA Awards, for her work on Elvis.[5] On 5 March 2023, she became the first woman to win the American Society of Cinematographers Award in the feature film category, also for Elvis.[6]

Walker presently lives in Santa Monica, California.

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Director
1990 Return Home Ray Argall
1992 Eight Ball
1996 Parklands Kathryn Millard
Love Serenade Shirley Barrett
Life Lawrence Johnston
1997 The Well Samantha Lang
2000 Walk the Talk Shirley Barrett
2001 Lantana Ray Lawrence
2002 Australian Rules Paul Goldman
2003 Shattered Glass Billy Ray
2008 Australia Baz Luhrmann
2011 Beastly Daniel Barnz
Red Riding Hood Catherine Hardwicke
2013 Tracks John Curran
2015 Truth James Vanderbilt
Jane Got a Gun Gavin O'Connor
2016 Hidden Figures Theodore Melfi
2017 The Mountain Between Us Hany Abu-Assad
2020 Mulan Niki Caro
2022 Elvis Baz Luhrmann
2025 Snow White Marc Webb

Documentary film

Year Title Director
1991 As the Mirror Burns Di Bretherton
Cristina Pozzan

Television

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Year Title Director Notes
1992 Everyman Cherie Nowlan Episode "God's Girls: Stories from an Australian Convent"
1996 Naked: Stories of Men Geoffrey Wright Episode "A Fallen Woman"
1997 Raw FM
2023 Faraway Downs Baz Luhrmann Miniseries

TV movies

Year Title Director
2013 Gilded Lilys Brian Kirk
2014 Only Human Gavin O'Connor

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Title Result
1997 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Best Cinematography The Well Nominated
2008 Satellite Awards Best Cinematography Australia Won
2013 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Best Cinematography Tracks Nominated
2022 Elvis Won
American Society of Cinematographers Awards Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography Won
Academy Awards Best Cinematography Nominated
BAFTA Awards Best Cinematography Nominated

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Mandy Walker ACS ASC". Australian Cinematographers Society. Archived from the original on 20 April 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  2. ^ Giardina, Carolyn (13 January 2017). "How 'Hidden Figures' Got Its 1960s "Kodachrome Look"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  3. ^ "Into Battle on Mulan - The American Society of Cinematographers". ascmag.com. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  4. ^ "Ms Amanda (Mandy) Joy Walker". It's An Honour. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  5. ^ Maddox, Garry (5 December 2022). "'It feels shocking': Glass ceiling smashed at Australian Academy Awards". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  6. ^ Giardina, Carolyn (5 March 2023). "Mandy Walker Becomes First Woman to Win American Society of Cinematographers Feature Competition". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
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