stories
Mank and My Octopus Teacher shine at the 93rd Academy Awards
April 27th, 2021
Photo Credit: Todd Wawrychuk / A.M.P.A.S.

With Oscar® wins in the Cinematography and Documentary categories on Sunday, April 25, 2021 productions Mank and My Octopus Teacher capped off a successful awards season for RED Digital Cinema.

Erik Messerschmidt, ASC took the Best Cinematography prize for his glorious black-and-white photography of Mank. Messerschmidt also won awards from his peers at the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) and British Society of Cinematographers (BSC) in 2021. Shot on a RED RANGER with a HELIUM 8K MONOCHROME sensor, Mank is the 17th black-and-white film in Academy Award® history to be nominated for cinematography since separate categories for color and black-and-white films were merged in 1967.

Also taking an award home was My Octopus Teacher the touching under-the-sea story won the Oscar for Best Documentary. Winners Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed, and Craig Foster collaborated with cinematographer Roger Horrocks on Netflix’s My Octopus Teacher, shot on a RED DRAGON. The touching under-the-sea story has been widely recognized this season, winning BAFTA, ACE, PGA and IDA awards. It also earned nominations from DGA, MPSE, and CAS. Horroks claimed a Best Cinematography Award for a documentary at the Critics’ Choice Award.

Additional productions shot on RED that received accolades this awards season include Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit, shot by Steven Meizler on the RED RANGER. The limited series earned Meizler an ASC Award. The series also won DGA, PGA, SAG, Golden Globes, AFI, ACE, ADG, and WGA awards, among others. Ammonite, The Dissident, The Last Dance, The Social Dilemma, and David Attenborough: Life on Our Planet were also recognized for their achievements.

RED is honored to be the technology partner for these award-winning productions.