Emmanuel Lubezki | |
|---|---|
| Born | Emmanuel Lubezki Morgenstern (1964-11-30)November 30, 1964 (age 60) Mexico City, Mexico |
| Other names | Chivo[1] |
| Alma mater | National Autonomous University of Mexico |
| Occupation | Cinematographer |
| Years active | 1983–present |
| Organization(s) | Mexican Society of Cinematographers American Society of Cinematographers |
| Awards | Full list |
Emmanuel Lubezki Morgenstern (Spanish pronunciation:[emaˈnwelluˈβeski]; born November 30, 1964) is a Mexicancinematographer. Lubezki is known for uses ofnatural lighting andcontinuous uninterrupted shots in cinematography, often utilizing aSteadicam, a3-axis gimbal, orhand-held camera. He is also known for his frequent collaborations withTerrence Malick,Alfonso Cuarón, andAlejandro González Iñárritu.[2]
He has receivednumerous accolades including three consecutive wins for theAcademy Award for Best Cinematography for thescience fiction thrillerGravity (2013), thedark comedyBirdman (2014), and theepic westernThe Revenant (2015). He was Oscar-nominated for his work onA Little Princess (1995),Sleepy Hollow (1999),The New World (2005),Children of Men (2006), andThe Tree of Life (2011).
Lubezki is a member of both the Mexican Society of Cinematographers and theAmerican Society of Cinematographers. Lubezki won theRoyal Photographic Society Lumière Award for major achievement in cinematography, video or animation in 2016.
Lubezki was born to a Jewish family in Mexico City, Mexico.[2][3][4] His father was actor and producer Muni Lubezki.[5] His paternal grandfather isLithuanian Jewish while his grandmother is also Jewish, from Russia.[6] Lubezki studied film at Mexico'sCentro Universitario de Estudios Cinematográficos (CUEC), where he metAlfonso Cuarón.[2]
Lubezki began his career in Mexican film and television productions in the late 1980s. His first international production was the 1993 independent filmTwenty Bucks, which followed the journey of a singletwenty-dollar bill. He has worked with directors includingMike Nichols,Tim Burton,Michael Mann,Joel and Ethan Coen, andDavid O. Russell.
Lubezki is a frequent collaborator with fellow Mexican filmmakerAlfonso Cuarón. The two have been friends since they were teenagers and attended the samefilm school[7] at theNational Autonomous University of Mexico.[1] Together they have worked on six motion pictures:Sólo Con Tu Pareja,A Little Princess,Great Expectations,Y Tu Mamá También,Children of Men, andGravity.His work with Cuarón onChildren of Men (2006) has received universal acclaim.[8] The film utilized a number of new technologies and distinctive techniques. The "roadside ambush" scene was shot in one extended take utilizing a special camera rig invented by Doggicam systems, developed from the company's Power Slide system.[9] For the scene, a vehicle was modified to enable seats to tilt and lower actors out of the way of the camera. The windshield of the car was designed to tilt out of the way to allow camera movement in and out through the front windscreen. A crew of four, including Lubezki, rode on the roof.Children of Men also features a seven-and-a-half-minute battle sequence composed of roughly five seamless edits.
Lubezki won his firstAcademy Award for Best Cinematography for his work on Cuarón'sGravity, a thriller set inouter space.[10][11] The film was praised for the way it combined two shots through digital backgrounds of space to create the illusion of scenes done in a single shot.[12] Lubezki won his second Academy Award for Best Cinematography in the following year for his work onAlejandro González Iñárritu'sBirdman. The film used a similar technique fromGravity, being very unusual in the way the entire movie was shot so as to appear to be photographed in one continuous take.[13] Lubezki won the award again in 2015 for Iñárritu'sThe Revenant, becoming a milestone for his third consecutive win and for being the first cinematographer to do so.[14] The film was shot entirely in the wilderness during a cold season, minimizing the amount of CGI and using onlynatural lighting. It was an extremely difficult process that required a limited amount of time to shoot each scene, which delayed the production, causingbudget overruns and changes of locations for proper settings. However,The Revenant earned over $500 million at the box office and received critical acclaim, with much praise for the film's atmospheric tone and realism.
Lubezki is known for groundbreaking uses ofnatural lighting andcontinuous uninterrupted shots in cinematography, often utilizing aSteadicam, a3-axis gimbal, orhand-held camera to orchestrate fluid, uninterrupted camera movements during particularly significant scenes. Lubezki is a member of both the Mexican Society of Cinematographers and theAmerican Society of Cinematographers. Lubezki won theRoyal Photographic Society Lumière Award for major achievement in cinematography, video or animation in 2016.
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Vengeance Is Mine | Alfonso Cuarón Carlos Marcovich Luis Estrada | Co-cinematographer with Cuaron |
| 1985 | Sera por eso que la quiero tanto | Carlos Marcovich | |
| 1988 | Los buzos diamantistas | Marcela Couturier | |
| 1990 | La muchacha | Dorotea Guerra | |
| 2002 | From Mesmer, with Love or Tea for Two | Alejandro Lubezki Salvador Aguirre | |
| 2007 | Anna | Alejandro González Iñárritu | Segment ofTo Each His Own Cinema |
| 2017 | Flesh and Sand | ||
| 2023 | The Knowing Southern Right Whales | Himself | Documentary short |
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989–90 | La hora marcada | Alfonso Cuarón Luis Estrada Juan Mora Catlett | 8 episodes; Also credited as producer |
| 1990 | El motel de la muerte | Luis Estrada Jorge Prior | TV movie; With Alfonso Cuarón, Guillermo Granillo and Antonio Ruiz |
| 1993 | Fallen Angels | Steven Soderbergh Alfonso Cuarón | Episodes "The Quiet Room" and "Murder Obliquely" |
| 2024 | Disclaimer | Alfonso Cuarón | Miniseries; WithBruno Delbonnel, also credited as executive producer |
TV shorts
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Write the Future | Alejandro González Iñárritu | |
| Dick Tracy Special | Warren Beatty Chris Merrill | With Stephanie Martin |
Short film
| Year | Title | Director | Producer | Writer | Editor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Ejercicio de 20 año | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 1986 | Marlena en la pared | Yes | No | No | No |
| 2007 | Lección relámpago | No | Co-producer | No | No |
Documentary short
| Year | Title | Director | Producer | Editor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Caifanes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2023 | The Knowing Southern Right Whales | Yes | No | No |
Film producer
Lubezki has been recognized by theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the following films:
| International | |
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| National | |
| Academics | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
