Oscars 2015: Emmanuel Lubezki Becomes Second Cinematographer to Win Back-to-Back Honors

Mexico's Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezki on Sunday night became only the second-ever cinematographer to win back-to-back Oscars.

Accepting the Academy Award for his work on Alejandro G. Inarritu's Birdman after last year winning the same honor for Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity, he followed in the footsteps of John Toll. Toll won the cinematography Oscar for Legends of the Fall (1994) and Braveheart (1995), respectively.

Lubezki, born in Mexico City in 1964, earlier this month in London also won his second BAFTA in as many years. Toll won that same award for Braveheart, but wasn't nominated the year before for Legends of the Fall.

Lubezki earlier this month also won his fourth American Society of Cinematographers Award for Birdman, which gives the appearance of having been shot in one continuous take.

The Mexican veteran recently also served as director of photography on Terrence Malick's Knight of Cups, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, after previously working on the director's The Tree of Life.

Having earned a reputation for taking his art in new creative and technological directions, he is pushing the envelope again on his next project, Inarritu's The Revenant.

Email: Georg.Szalai@THR.com
Twitter: @georgszalai