SCA alumna Ayana Baraka operating a camera on set. (Courtesy of Baraka)
Women Cinematographers Take Aim at the Ceiling: SCA’s Female DPs Are Intent on Making a Mark!
by Desa Philadelphia
When San Diego State University’s Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film released a widely reported study of women working behind the camera this year, the news was especially dire for women cinematographers. The study, “The Celluloid Ceiling: Employment of Behind-the-Scenes Women on Top Grossing U.S. Films in 2023,” reported that only 6% of the 250 top grossing films had women cinematographers on the crew. That amounts to 15 films. Granted, the news wasn’t great for directors (17%) either, but Directors of Photography seem to have an especially tough time breaking through on blockbusters.
Linda Brown, who is the head of the cinematography tract at the USC School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) says addressing the lack of representation is hard. “It’s partially hard because there are fewer women in the field,” she says. “When we shot film, and the equipment was bigger and heavier, we thought it was the size of the gear that discouraged women from pursuing cinematography. However, the number of women who expressed interest did not increase significantly when smaller digital cameras were introduced. We therefore thought that perhaps the focus on technology was the cause. Honestly, I don’t know why cinematography is still so male-dominated.” As Brown acknowledges, it doesn’t have to be, but anecdotally it seems that the belief that “women aren’t interested in cinematography” has become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Men hire men because they think women aren’t interested or they don’t know any women DPs; and women don’t feel welcome, so they avoid the field.
The lack of support is even more stark when one considers representation of Black women in the field. “I am one of six black women, to be in Local 600 as a director of photography,” explains SCA alumna Ayana Baraka ‘15, referring to the International Cinematographers Guild, or Local 600, which bills itself as representing “the most talented camera professionals and publicists in the world.” Baraka, who was recently named to Variety’s 10 Cinematographers to Watch list (which pleasingly recognized 5 men and 5 women), has been making a living shooting mostly commercials and documentaries, including the multi-part series In the Arena: Serena Williams, and the documentary Uncharted, featuring Alicia Keys.
SCA alumna Ayana Baraka operating a camera on set. (Courtesy of Baraka)
“For me, it’s not really like a proud thing to say I’m one of six,” says Baraka. “It's more I'm making a point that there are only six, and we need to do a lot to improve. I think it's incredibly important for more Black women to be a part of the filmmaking process, not only in front of the camera, but behind the camera, to writing stories, shooting the stories and editing the stories. Because we reflect society.” Baraka is a member of 600 Black Women, comprised of Local 600 members (DPs, camera operators, camera assistants, photographers, publicists etc.) who are committed to helping more Black women train in their fields, and be able to join the guild.
Baraka, who has also shot several narrative shorts, and is exploring a possible feature, says it’s important that women who have worked hard to acquire the training, actually have opportunities to do the work. “I am classically trained through USC. And so I want to leave my mark,” she says.
SCA professor Linda Brown, is convinced the numbers will grow as more women coming into the field see examples of female success. “As head of the cinematography track, I assign female instructors to the introductory classes whenever possible,” she says. “I want our students to be exposed to strong female instructors early in the program.
Baraka got the cinematography bug while in the MFA production program at SCA. Her talent for lighting, especially of black and brown skin tones, got noticed by professors, who recommended her for DP work. While still in school, she worked on two Emmy-nominated documentaries: The Hunting Ground, about rape culture on college campuses; and United Skates, about the relevance of roller rinks in African American culture. She also shot the documentary short Jihad in Hollywood, about a Syrian refugee actor trying to establish as career in Los Angeles, which was acquired for distribution by Al Jazeera.
Baraka was also drawn to creating Virtual Reality projects while at SCA, saying she was drawn to the technology focus of the work. She has continued creating immersive experiences and created Greenwood Avenue: A Virtual Reality Experience (2021), which draws on the recollections of Dr. Olivia Hooker, who was one of the last surviving witnesses to the Tulsa “Black Wall Street” massacre of 1921. “I met Dr. Hooker and sat with her and listened to her story about that time in Tulsa,” says Baraka, who is also passionate about “the preservation of history,” adding: “I really wanted people to experience what it felt like for me to learn this history and sit across from Dr. Hooker.” Greenwood Avenue, which took six years to make, is now being used in schools to teach about the massacre.
Brown says it is “thrilling” to see Baraka and other young female cinematographers making a name for themselves in the male-dominated field. She and the other SCA cinematography professors celebrated when female SCA DPs won two of the three American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) student awards in October 2024. Meg Weck in the Documentary category for Danceable, about three dancers with disabilities who love movement arts; and Isabelle Leonard, who won the Undergraduate award for Amos’ Bride, a horror film about a young couple’s attempt to escape a cult.
“When a student asked if I was envious that more women are attaining success today than when I started my career, I said ‘absolutely not!’” says Brown. “It has been my goal to see more female cinematographers, and for them to get the recognition they deserve.”
Rachel Morrison being nominated for an Academy Award for Mudbound (2017), the acclaim for SCA alumnus Alice Brooks’ remarkable work on Wicked (2024), Baraka’s recognition by Variety — maybe women cinematographers are starting to get the recognition they deserve.