Mandy Walker
{{short description|Australian cinematographer (born 1963)}}
{{BLP sources|date=January 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Use Australian English|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Mandy Walker
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AM|size=100}}
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1963}}
| birth_place = Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
|occupation=Cinematographer
}}
Mandy Walker {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AM}}, {{small| ACS}}, {{small|ASC}} (born 1963),{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=Mandy Walker ACS ASC |url=http://www.cinematographer.org.au/cms/page.asp?ID=22769 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200420013923/http://cinematographer.org.au/cms/page.asp?ID=22769 |archive-date=2020-04-20 |access-date=2020-09-19 |website=Australian Cinematographers Society}} 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.{{cite web |last1=Giardina |first1=Carolyn |title=How 'Hidden Figures' Got Its 1960s "Kodachrome Look" |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/how-hidden-figures-got-1960s-kodachrome-look-963042/ |website=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=30 November 2021 |date=13 January 2017}}{{cite web |title=Into Battle on Mulan - The American Society of Cinematographers |url=https://ascmag.com/articles/mandy-walker-mulan |website=ascmag.com |access-date=30 November 2021}} She was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours.
Life and career
Born and raised in Melbourne, Victoria, Walker became interested in photography while a student in high school. 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. 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. 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.
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.{{Cite web|title=Ms Amanda (Mandy) Joy Walker|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/2009214|access-date=2021-06-13|website=It's An Honour}}
On 4 December 2022, she became the first woman to win a cinematography award at the AACTA Awards, for her work on Elvis.{{Cite web |last=Maddox |first=Garry |date=2022-12-05 |title='It feels shocking': Glass ceiling smashed at Australian Academy Awards |url=https://www.smh.com.au/culture/movies/glass-ceiling-for-women-cinematographers-smashed-at-australian-academy-awards-20221204-p5c3j4.html |access-date=2022-12-07 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald|language=en}} 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.{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/american-society-cinematographers-2023-awards-winners-mandy-walker-record-1235339244/|title=Mandy Walker Becomes First Woman to Win American Society of Cinematographers Feature Competition |last=Giardina |first=Carolyn |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=5 March 2023 |access-date=6 March 2023}}
In 2025 she was elected the 48th president of the American Society of Cinematographers. She is the first woman to lead the society.{{Cite web |last=Giardina |first=Carolyn |date=2025-05-24 |title=Mandy Walker Elected President of American Society of Cinematographers |url=https://variety.com/2025/artisans/news/mandy-walker-asc-cinematographers-elected-president-1236408948/ |access-date=2025-05-25 |website=Variety |language=en-US|archive-date=2025-05-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250524193927/https://variety.com/2025/artisans/news/mandy-walker-asc-cinematographers-elected-president-1236408948/|url-status=live}}
Walker presently lives in Santa Monica, California.
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Title ! Director |
|---|
| 1990
|rowspan=2| Ray Argall |
| 1992 |
| rowspan=3| 1996
| Kathryn Millard |
| Love Serenade |
| Life
| Lawrence Johnston |
| 1997
| The Well |
| 2000
| Shirley Barrett |
| 2001
| Lantana |
| 2002
| Paul Goldman |
| 2003 |
| 2008 |
| rowspan=2| 2011
| Beastly |
| Red Riding Hood |
| 2013
| Tracks |
| rowspan=2| 2015
| Truth |
| Jane Got a Gun |
| 2016 |
| 2017 |
| 2020
| Mulan |
| 2022
| Elvis | Baz Luhrmann |
| 2025 |
Documentary film
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Title ! Director |
|---|
| 1991
| As the Mirror Burns | Di Bretherton |
=Television=
Awards and nominations
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Award ! Category ! Title ! Result |
|---|
| 1997
| Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts | The Well | {{nom}} |
| 2008
| Australia | {{won}} |
| 2013
|rowspan=2| Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts |rowspan=2| Best Cinematography | Tracks | {{nom}} |
| rowspan=4| 2022
|rowspan=4| Elvis | {{won}} |
| American Society of Cinematographers Awards
| Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography | {{won}} |
| Academy Awards
| {{nom}} |
| BAFTA Awards
| {{nom}} |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|https://www.mandywalkerdp.com/}}
- {{IMDb name|0907999}}
- [http://www.cinematographers.nl/PaginasDoPh/walker.htm Mandy Walker at the Internet Encyclopedia of Cinematographers]
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Mandy Walker
|list =
{{American Society of Cinematographers Theatrical Release Award}}
{{Satellite Award Best Cinematography}}
{{St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography}}
}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Mandy}}
Category:Australian cinematographers
Category:Australian women cinematographers