Ava Berkofsky is an American cinematographer and director. They are best known for their work on '' Insecure'', for which they were nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards. Berkofsky has been noted for their skill in lighting brown skin on camera.

Career

Berkofsky was the director of photography for the films ''

Free In Deed ''Free in Deed'' is a 2015 American-New Zealand drama film directed by Jake Mahaffy. It was won the award for Best Film in the Horizons section of the 72nd Venice International Film Festival. Cast * David Harewood as Abe Wilkins * Edwina Findle ...

'' (2016) and the Starz series '' Vida''. Berkofsky was the principal cinematographer for HBO's '' Insecure'' from seasons two through five. They collaborated with executive producer Melina Matsoukas to develop the show's distinct visual style, which has some unique variation each season. The style frequently includes "short-siding characters and giving them lots of headroom to trap them in unbalanced frames." They also paid particular attention to framing to shoot ''Insecure''. They have been hailed for their uncommon skill in lighting the brown skin of ''Insecure's'' principal cast members. Berkofsky, who did not receive formal training on lighting non-white people in film school, uses techniques to control the levels of light throughout the shoot with tools such as LED-filled Litemats, glossy makeup on the actors, and a filter called a polarizer. The cinematography of ''Insecure'''s fifth season was reviewed by

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Angelica Jade Bastién Angelica Jade Bastién is an American essayist and critic. She is a staff writer for ''Vulture'', where she has reviewed film and written television recaps since 2015. Bastién also specializes in horror and depictions of women and madness. She ...

as "visually...a feast. Its graceful, sloping camerawork delights...The color scheme of cool blues, warm amber, and deep green enlivens the frame. Mirrors hold possibilities for your past to reach out to your present." Berkofsky also directed one episode in each of the final two seasons of the show. For their work they were nominated for three Primetime Emmys for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (Half-Hour). They are the cinematographer for the

Apple TV+ Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that plays received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Since its secon ...

film ''

The Sky is Everywhere ''The Sky Is Everywhere'' is a 2010 young adult fiction, young adult novel by Jandy Nelson as her debut novel. It tells the story of an American high school girl, Lennie Walker, struggling to cope with the sudden death of her older sister. Lenni ...

''. In 2021 they worked with

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to develop the

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camera's ability to capture high-quality photos of brown skin.

Personal life

Berkofsky was born in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, United Kingdom and was raised in California, spending part of their childhood in

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before later moving north. They received an MFA from the American Film Institute. Berkofsky is queer. They are

nonbinary Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typicall ...

and use they/them pronouns.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Berkofsky, Ava Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American cinematographers Filmmakers from California American non-binary artists AFI Conservatory alumni 21st-century American artists Queer artists LGBT people from California