Cristina Dunlap has contributed her vision and skills as a

cinematographer to numerous award-winning projects. Her most recent film, American Fiction, written and directed by Cord Jefferson, has garnered five Academy Award nominations, including for Best Picture, and received PGA Awards, Critics Choice, Golden Globe, and Independent Spirit Awards nominations. The film took home the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival 2023, and was named one of the Top 10 films of 2023 by the American Film Institute.

 

In 2022, Dunlap lensed Cha Cha Real Smooth for director Cooper Raiff which won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival. The film went on to screen at SXSW and was eventually acquired by Apple TV+. Dunlap’s other recent project Am I Ok?, the directorial debut of Tig Notaro and Stephanie Allynne, starring Dakota Johnson, also premiered at Sundance Film Festival the same year.

 

Outside of narrative work, Dunlap has shot music videos for acclaimed artists including Lizzo, Coldplay, Kali Uchis, The Chainsmokers, and Katy Perry. In 2018, Dunlap filmed Brandi Carlile’s music video “Party of One” which starred Elisabeth Moss. She won Best Cinematography at the Kinsale Shark Awards for Blackalachia, a feature length musical film starring Moses Sumney, which premiered at Art Basal in 2022. Most recently, she worked with Taylor Swift and her creative director Ethan Tobeman to film all of the on-stage visuals for The Eras Tour.

 

As a cinematographer, Cristina’s passion is fueled by the belief that people can be brought together by a shared visual experience, finding a way to visually translate someone's inner most thoughts and feelings to an audience through movement, lighting, and color.

 

Dunlap graduated from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts in 2009. She is a tenth generation Californian and a first generation filmmaker.