Mandy Walker AM, ACS, ASC (born 1963),[1] 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.[2][3] She was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours.
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Born and raised in Melbourne, Victoria, Walker became interested in photography while a student in high school.[1] 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.[1] 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.[1] 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.[1]
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.[4]
On 4 December 2022, she became the first woman to win a cinematography award at the AACTA Awards, for her work on Elvis.[5] 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.[6]
Walker presently lives in Santa Monica, California.
Film
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Return Home | Ray Argall |
| 1992 | Eight Ball | |
| 1996 | Parklands | Kathryn Millard |
| Love Serenade | Shirley Barrett | |
| Life | Lawrence Johnston | |
| 1997 | The Well | Samantha Lang |
| 2000 | Walk the Talk | Shirley Barrett |
| 2001 | Lantana | Ray Lawrence |
| 2002 | Australian Rules | Paul Goldman |
| 2003 | Shattered Glass | Billy Ray |
| 2008 | Australia | Baz Luhrmann |
| 2011 | Beastly | Daniel Barnz |
| Red Riding Hood | Catherine Hardwicke | |
| 2013 | Tracks | John Curran |
| 2015 | Truth | James Vanderbilt |
| Jane Got a Gun | Gavin O'Connor | |
| 2016 | Hidden Figures | Theodore Melfi |
| 2017 | The Mountain Between Us | Hany Abu-Assad |
| 2020 | Mulan | Niki Caro |
| 2022 | Elvis | Baz Luhrmann |
| 2025 | Snow White | Marc Webb |
Documentary film
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | As the Mirror Burns | Di Bretherton Cristina Pozzan |
Television
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Everyman | Cherie Nowlan | Episode "God's Girls: Stories from an Australian Convent" |
| 1996 | Naked: Stories of Men | Geoffrey Wright | Episode "A Fallen Woman" |
| 1997 | Raw FM | ||
| 2023 | Faraway Downs | Baz Luhrmann | Miniseries |
TV movies
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Gilded Lilys | Brian Kirk |
| 2014 | Only Human | Gavin O'Connor |
| Year | Award | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts | Best Cinematography | The Well | Nominated |
| 2008 | Satellite Awards | Best Cinematography | Australia | Won |
| 2013 | Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts | Best Cinematography | Tracks | Nominated |
| 2022 | Elvis | Won | ||
| American Society of Cinematographers Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography | Won | ||
| Academy Awards | Best Cinematography | Nominated | ||
| BAFTA Awards | Best Cinematography | Nominated | ||
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