# Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography

The Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography is one of several categories presented by the Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA), an association of professional film critics, who work in print, broadcast and online media, based in Chicago. Since the 3rd Chicago Film Critics Association Awards (1990), the award is presented annually. Nominations from 1991 to 1994 are not available. The first Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography went to Dean Semler for his work on Dances with Wolves. The most recent recipient of this award is Jomo Fray for Nickel Boys.
Roger Deakins is the cinematographer with the most nominations (13); those have resulted in the most wins (4). Emmanuel Lubezki also has four wins, but from eight nominations. Robert Richardson has eight nominations, which have resulted in two wins. Other notable achievers include Janusz Kamiński (9 nominations, 1 win), Michael Ballhaus (4 nominations, 1 win) and Rodrigo Prieto (4 nominations, 1 win). Seven cinematographers have been nominated multiple times, but never received the award. These include Conrad Hall, Robert Elswit, Claudio Miranda, and Łukasz Żal; Mandy Walker was the first female cinematographer to have received a nomination for the award. The 16th Chicago Film Critics Association Awards (2003) saw all 15 cinematographers who worked on Winged Migration nominated for Best Cinematography, while the 17th Chicago Film Critics Association Awards (2004) was the first to result in a tie. In 2007, Deakins received two nominations for his work on The Assassination of Jesse James and No Country for Old Men, the first time a cinematographer has been nominated twice in one year.

## Winner and nominees
### 1990s

| Year | Cinematographer | Film |
| 1990 | Dean Semler | Dances with Wolves |
| 1990 | Gordon Willis | The Godfather Part III |
| 1990 | Michael Ballhaus | Goodfellas |
| 1991 | Roger Deakins | Barton Fink |
| 1992 | Michael Ballhaus | Bram Stoker's Dracula |
| 1993 | Janusz Kamiński | Schindler's List |
| 1994 | Stefan Czapsky | Ed Wood |
| 1995 | Darius Khondji | Se7en |
| 1995 | Dean Cundey | Apollo 13 |
| 1995 | Matthew F. Leonetti | Strange Days |
| 1995 | Emmanuel Lubezki | A Walk in the Clouds |
| 1995 | Dante Spinotti | Heat |
| 1995 | Haskell Wexler | The Secret of Roan Inish |
| 1996 | John Seale | The English Patient |
| 1996 | Roger Deakins | Fargo |
| 1996 | Darius Khondji | Evita |
| 1996 | Chris Menges | Michael Collins |
| 1996 | Robby Müller | Dead Man |
| 1997 | Russell Carpenter | Titanic |
| 1997 | Roger Deakins | Kundun |
| 1997 | Frederick Elmes | The Ice Storm |
| 1997 | Dante Spinotti | L.A. Confidential |
| 1997 | Sacha Vierny | The Pillow Book |
| 1998 | John Toll | The Thin Red Line |
| 1998 | Remi Adefarasin | Elizabeth |
| 1998 | Tak Fujimoto | Beloved |
| 1998 | Janusz Kamiński | Saving Private Ryan |
| 1998 | Robert Richardson | The Horse Whisperer |
| 1999 | Robert Richardson | Snow Falling on Cedars |
| 1999 | Conrad Hall | American Beauty |
| 1999 | Stanley Kubrick and Larry Smith | Eyes Wide Shut |
| 1999 | Emmanuel Lubezki | Sleepy Hollow |
| 1999 | John Seale | The Talented Mr. Ripley |

### 2000s

| Year | Cinematographer | Film |
| 2000 | Peter Pau | Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon |
| 2000 | Peter Andrews | Traffic |
| 2000 | Don Burgess | Cast Away |
| 2000 | Roger Deakins | O Brother, Where Art Thou? |
| 2000 | John Mathieson | Gladiator |
| 2001 | Andrew Lesnie | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring |
| 2001 | Roger Deakins | The Man Who Wasn't There |
| 2001 | Peter Deming | Mulholland Drive |
| 2001 | Christopher Doyle and Mark Lee Ping Bin | In the Mood for Love |
| 2001 | Janusz Kamiński | A.I. Artificial Intelligence |
| 2001 | Donald McAlpine | Moulin Rouge! |
| 2002 | Edward Lachman | Far from Heaven |
| 2002 | Michael Ballhaus | Gangs of New York |
| 2002 | Conrad Hall | Road to Perdition |
| 2002 | Janusz Kamiński | Minority Report |
| 2002 | Andrew Lesnie | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers |
| 2003 | Lance Acord | Lost in Translation |
| 2003 | Olli Barbé, et al. | Winged Migration |
| 2003 | Russell Boyd | Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World |
| 2003 | Andrew Lesnie | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King |
| 2003 | John Seale | Cold Mountain |
| 2003 | Eduardo Serra | Girl with a Pearl Earring |
| 2004 | Christopher Doyle (TIE) | Hero |
| 2004 | Robert Richardson (TIE) | The Aviator |
| 2005 | Rodrigo Prieto | Brokeback Mountain |
| 2005 | Robert Elswit | Good Night, and Good Luck |
| 2005 | Janusz Kamiński | Munich |
| 2005 | Andrew Lesnie | King Kong |
| 2005 | Emmanuel Lubezki | The New World |
| 2005 | Roman Osin | Pride & Prejudice |
| 2006 | Emmanuel Lubezki | Children of Men |
| 2006 | Michael Ballhaus | The Departed |
| 2006 | Matthew Libatique | The Fountain |
| 2006 | Rodrigo Prieto | Babel |
| 2006 | Tom Stern | Letters from Iwo Jima |
| 2007 | Roger Deakins | The Assassination of Jesse James |
| 2007 | Roger Deakins | No Country for Old Men |
| 2007 | Robert Elswit | There Will Be Blood |
| 2007 | Janusz Kamiński | The Diving Bell and the Butterfly |
| 2007 | Seamus McGarvey | Atonement |
| 2008 | Wally Pfister | The Dark Knight |
| 2008 | Anthony Dod Mantle | Slumdog Millionaire |
| 2008 | Claudio Miranda | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button |
| 2008 | Mandy Walker | Australia |
| 2008 | Colin Watkinson | The Fall |
| 2009 | Barry Ackroyd | The Hurt Locker |
| 2009 | Lance Acord | Where the Wild Things Are |
| 2009 | Mauro Fiore | Avatar |
| 2009 | Greig Fraser | Bright Star |
| 2009 | Robert Richardson | Inglourious Basterds |

### 2010s

| Year | Cinematographer | Film |
| 2010 | Wally Pfister | Inception |
| 2010 | Jeff Cronenweth | The Social Network |
| 2010 | Roger Deakins | True Grit |
| 2010 | Matthew Libatique | Black Swan |
| 2010 | Robert Richardson | Shutter Island |
| 2011 | Emmanuel Lubezki | The Tree of Life |
| 2011 | Manuel Alberto Claro | Melancholia |
| 2011 | Janusz Kamiński | War Horse |
| 2011 | Robert Richardson | Hugo |
| 2011 | Newton Thomas Sigel | Drive |
| 2012 | Mihai Mălaimare Jr. | The Master |
| 2012 | Roger Deakins | Skyfall |
| 2012 | Greig Fraser | Zero Dark Thirty |
| 2012 | Janusz Kamiński | Lincoln |
| 2012 | Claudio Miranda | Life of Pi |
| 2013 | Emmanuel Lubezki | Gravity |
| 2013 | Sean Bobbitt | 12 Years a Slave |
| 2013 | Roger Deakins | Prisoners |
| 2013 | Bruno Delbonnel | Inside Llewyn Davis |
| 2013 | Hoyte van Hoytema | Her |
| 2014 | Emmanuel Lubezki (TIE) | Birdman |
| 2014 | Robert Yeoman (TIE) | The Grand Budapest Hotel |
| 2014 | Robert Elswit | Inherent Vice |
| 2014 | Ryszard Lenczewski and Łukasz Żal | Ida |
| 2014 | Hoyte van Hoytema | Interstellar |
| 2015 | John Seale | Mad Max: Fury Road |
| 2015 | Roger Deakins | Sicario |
| 2015 | Edward Lachman | Carol |
| 2015 | Emmanuel Lubezki | The Revenant |
| 2015 | Robert Richardson | The Hateful Eight |
| 2016 | Linus Sandgren | La La Land |
| 2016 | Chung Chung-hoon | The Handmaiden |
| 2016 | Stéphane Fontaine | Jackie |
| 2016 | James Laxton | Moonlight |
| 2016 | Rodrigo Prieto | Silence |
| 2017 | Roger Deakins | Blade Runner 2049 |
| 2017 | Dan Laustsen | The Shape of Water |
| 2017 | Rachel Morrison | Mudbound |
| 2017 | Hoyte van Hoytema | Dunkirk |
| 2017 | Alexis Zabé | The Florida Project |
| 2018 | Alfonso Cuarón | Roma |
| 2018 | James Laxton | If Beale Street Could Talk |
| 2018 | Robbie Ryan | The Favourite |
| 2018 | Linus Sandgren | First Man |
| 2018 | Łukasz Żal | Cold War |
| 2019 | Roger Deakins | 1917 |
| 2019 | Jarin Blaschke | The Lighthouse |
| 2019 | Hong Kyung-pyo | Parasite |
| 2019 | Claire Mathon | Portrait of a Lady on Fire |
| 2019 | Robert Richardson | Once Upon a Time in Hollywood |

### 2020s

| Year | Cinematographer | Film |
| 2020 | Joshua James Richards | Nomadland |
| 2020 | Christopher Blauvelt | First Cow |
| 2020 | Shabier Kirchner | Lovers Rock |
| 2020 | Erik Messerschmidt | Mank |
| 2020 | M.I. Littin-Menz | The Vast of Night |
| 2021 | Ari Wegner | The Power of the Dog |
| 2021 | Greig Fraser | Dune |
| 2021 | Andrew Droz Palermo | The Green Knight |
| 2021 | Bruno Delbonnel | The Tragedy of Macbeth |
| 2021 | Janusz Kaminski | West Side Story |
| 2022 | Kim Ji-yong | Decision to Leave |
| 2022 | Linus Sandgren | Babylon |
| 2022 | Darius Khondji | Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths |
| 2022 | Larkin Seiple | Everything Everywhere All at Once |
| 2022 | Claudio Miranda | Top Gun: Maverick |
| 2023 | Hoyte van Hoytema | Oppenheimer |
| 2023 | Robert D. Yeoman | Asteroid City |
| 2023 | Rodrigo Prieto | Killers of the Flower Moon |
| 2023 | Robbie Ryan | Poor Things |
| 2023 | Łukasz Żal | The Zone of Interest |
| 2024 | Jomo Fray | Nickel Boys |
| 2024 | Lol Crawley | The Brutalist |
| 2024 | Sayombhu Mukdeeprom | Challengers |
| 2024 | Greig Fraser | Dune: Part Two |
| 2024 | Jarin Blaschke | Nosferatu |