Sir Roger Deakins

Roger A Deakins CBE, ASC, BSC, is one of today’s most honored cinematographers, renowned for his vast and varied body of work. He has been nominated for an Oscar 16 times and won the award twice for the films Blade Runner 2049 and 1917. He has also received 17 nominations for the top honor awarded by the American Society of Cinematographers and has been nominated 11 times for the BAFTA award, winning five of them. Some of his other Oscar nominations are for: Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners and Sicaro; The Coen Brothers’ Fargo; Martin Scorsese’s Kundun; The Reader; Sam Mendes’ Skyfall; and Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken, just to name a few. He has also been recognized by his British peers with 11 British Society of Cinematographers (BSC) nominations and 7 wins. His myriad professional honors also two Independent Spirit Awards, numerous Critic’s awards and the National Board of Review’s Career Achievement Award. He is the sole cinematographer who has been honored with a CBE and a knighthood from his home country of England. Together with James, they have published two books, BYWAYS (a monograph of stills) and REFLECTIONS, a visual memoir.

James Ellis Deakins

James Ellis Deakins is the creative work partner of Roger Deakins. Born on the east coast of the United States, she double majored in college in Latin and Greek, doing a graduate course in Latin as an undergraduate. Once out of school, she began her film work in New York City as a film lab technician at DuArt Film Laboratories and then as a script supervisor in production. After moving to Los Angeles, she met Roger Deakins on a film set and their creative collaboration began. Eventually relinquishing the role of script supervisor to more fully enter into their collaborative partnership, she and Roger developed their unique working style which has continued to evolve as they enter into new enterprises including a podcast (“Team Deakins”), a website, BYWAYS (a book of still photography) and a visual memoir, REFLECTIONS. James’ natural affinity with technology proved essential when productions moved from the use of film capture to digital. Team Deakins create their approach to a film and execute the plan together. James oversees the many details that need to be coordinated which allows Roger to focus on capturing the visual. Working together, James and Roger have strived to create memorable images as well as share their knowledge with others.