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Rodrigo Prieto
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Rodrigo Prieto
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Rodrigo Prieto & Cate Blanchett Energa Camerimage 2024

Key Information

Rodrigo Prieto Stambaugh ASC, AMC (born November 23, 1965) is a Mexican cinematographer and film director.

He has collaborated with Martin Scorsese and Alejandro González Iñárritu, among other prominent directors. He is a member of both the Mexican Society of Cinematographers and the American Society of Cinematographers. Throughout his career, Prieto has received many awards and nominations, including four Academy Award nominations for Best Cinematography in Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Martin Scorsese's Silence (2016), The Irishman (2019), and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023).

Early life and education

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Rodrigo Prieto was born in Mexico City, Mexico. His grandfather, Jorge Prieto Laurens, was the mayor of Mexico City and leader of the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico, but was later persecuted by the country's ruler because of political differences. Prieto's grandfather escaped with his family to Texas and then to Los Angeles, where Prieto's father would spend most of his childhood. Prieto's father studied aeronautical engineering at New York University, where he met and married Prieto's mother, an artist. Rodrigo Prieto graduated from Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica in Mexico City.

Career

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Prieto at SBIFF in 2024

Prieto is noted for his unconventional use of the camera often combined with strong moody lighting. In 25th Hour, Prieto utilized overexposure and other techniques to create original dream-like images to signify that the events shown on screen are memories or visions. Similarly innovative photography could be spotted in Frida, featuring strong colors and sharp imagery blended with atmospheric yellows and browns, as well as his experimental use of infrared during a battle scene in Alexander. Prieto also is interested in evoking naturalism, most evident in The Homesman and Brokeback Mountain.[1][2] Prieto not only shot Brokeback Mountain, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography, but appeared in a cameo role within the film as a Mexican gigolo whom Jake Gyllenhaal's character, Jack Twist, meets.

Prieto has formed an artistic collaboration with Martin Scorsese on his films The Wolf of Wall Street, Silence, The Irishman,[3][4] and Killers of the Flower Moon.[5] He garnered Academy Award nominations for Best Cinematography for the latter three. He served as cinematographer for the music videos for the three Taylor Swift 2020 singles, "The Man", which references one of his previous films The Wolf of Wall Street, "Cardigan" and "Willow".[6]

Prieto is the recipient of the 2021 Vilcek Prize in Filmmaking, awarded by the Vilcek Foundation.[7][8]

In October 2023, Prieto served as a juror at the Morelia International Film Festival in Michoacán, Mexico.[9]

Personal life

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Prieto resides in Los Angeles, California with his wife Monica and they have two daughters.[10]

Filmography

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Feature film

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Year Title Director Notes
1996 All of Them Witches Daniel Gruener
Oedipus Mayor Jorge Alí Triana
1998 Fibra Óptica Francisco Athié
Un embrujo Carlos Carrera
2000 Amores perros Alejandro González Iñárritu
Ricky 6 Peter Filardi
2001 Original Sin Michael Cristofer
2002 Ten Tiny Love Stories Rodrigo García
Frida Julie Taymor
8 Mile Curtis Hanson
25th Hour Spike Lee
2003 21 Grams Alejandro González Iñárritu
2004 Alexander Oliver Stone
2005 Brokeback Mountain Ang Lee
2006 Babel Alejandro González Iñárritu
2007 Lust, Caution Ang Lee
2009 Broken Embraces Pedro Almodóvar
State of Play Kevin Macdonald
2010 Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps Oliver Stone
Biutiful Alejandro González Iñárritu
2011 Water for Elephants Francis Lawrence
We Bought a Zoo Cameron Crowe
2012 Argo Ben Affleck
2013 A Study in Gravity Michael Haussman
The Wolf of Wall Street Martin Scorsese
2014 The Homesman Tommy Lee Jones
2016 Silence Martin Scorsese
Passengers Morten Tyldum
2019 The Irishman Martin Scorsese
2020 The Glorias Julie Taymor
2023 Killers of the Flower Moon Martin Scorsese
Barbie Greta Gerwig
2024 Pedro Páramo Himself With Nico Aguilar

Television

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Documentary series

Year Title Director Notes
2003–2004 America Undercover Oliver Stone Segments Persona Non Grata[a] and Looking for Fidel[b]
2017 The Putin Interviews Miniseries[c]
  1. ^ Shared credit with Serguei Saldívar Tanaka
  2. ^ Shared credit with Carlos Marcovich
  3. ^ Shared credit with Anthony Dod Mantle

TV series

Year Title Director Notes
2015 What Lives Inside Robert Stromberg 1 episode
2016 Vinyl Martin Scorsese Episode "Pilot"

Music video

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Year Title Artist Director
2012 "Blue Jeans" Lana Del Rey Yoann Lemoine
2020 "The Man" Taylor Swift
"Cardigan"
"Willow"
2024 "Fortnight" (featuring Post Malone)
2025 "The Fate of Ophelia"

Awards and nominations

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Academy Awards

Year Title Category Result
2006 Brokeback Mountain Best Cinematography Nominated
2017 Silence Nominated
2020 The Irishman Nominated
2024 Killers of the Flower Moon Nominated

BAFTA Awards

Year Title Category Result
2006 Brokeback Mountain Best Cinematography Nominated
2007 Babel Nominated
2020 The Irishman Nominated
2024 Killers of the Flower Moon Nominated

American Society of Cinematographers Awards

Year Title Category Result
2003 Frida Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases Nominated
2006 Brokeback Mountain Nominated
2017 Silence Nominated
2020 The Irishman Nominated
2024 Killers of the Flower Moon Nominated
2025 Fortnight Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Music Video Nominated

Camerimage

Year Title Category Result
2000 Amores Perros Golden Frog Won
2004 Alexander Nominated
Silver Frog Won
2006 Babel Main Competition Golden Frog Nominated
2007 Lust, Caution Nominated
2012 Argo Nominated
Lana Del Rey: Blue Jeans Best Cinematography in a Music Video Nominated
2016 Vinyl Jury Award Best Pilot Nominated
2020 The Irishman Main Competition Golden Frog Nominated
2024 Fortnight Best Cinematography in a Music Video Won

Other awards

Year Award Category Title Result
1996 Ariel Awards Best Cinematography All of Them Witches Won
1999 Fibra Óptica Nominated
Best Cinematography Un embrujo Won
San Sebastián International Film Festival Jury Prize for Best Cinematography Won
2001 Ariel Awards Best Cinematography Amores perros Won
2003 Chlotrudis Awards Best Cinematography 21 Grams Nominated
2005 Circuit Community Awards Best Cinematography Brokeback Mountain Nominated
2005 Boston Society of Film Critics Best Cinematography Runner-up
2005 Chicago Film Critics Association Best Cinematography Won
2005 Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Best Cinematography Won
2005 Florida Film Critics Circle Best Cinematography Won
2005 International Cinephile Society Awards Best Cinematography Runner-up Tied
2005 International Online Cinema Awards (INOCA) Best Cinematography Nominated
2005 North Texas Film Critics Association Best Cinematography Won
2005 Online Film & Television Association Best Cinematography Won
2005 Online Film Critics Society Award Best Cinematography Won
2005 Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards Best Cinematography Won
2005 St. Louis Film Critics Association Best Cinematography Nominated
2006 Circuit Community Awards Best Cinematography Babel Nominated
2006 Chicago Film Critics Association Best Cinematography Nominated
2006 Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Best Cinematography Runner-up Tied
2006 International Online Cinema Awards (INOCA) Best Cinematography Nominated
2006 Online Film Critics Society Award Best Cinematography Nominated
2006 St. Louis Film Critics Association Best Cinematography Nominated
2008 Independent Spirit Awards Best Cinematography Lust, Caution Nominated
2007 Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards Best Cinematography Nominated
2007 International Cinematographers'
Film Festival Manaki Brothers 		Golden Camera 300 Won
2007 Venice Film Festival Golden Osella Best cinematography Won
2009 Cinema Writers Circle Awards, Spain Best Cinematography Broken Embraces Nominated
2010 Ariel Awards Best Cinematography Biutiful Won
2010 Goya Awards Best Cinematography Nominated
2010 CinEuphoria Awards Best Cinematography Nominated
2012 Tribeca Film Festival Jury Award Best Cinematography Likeness Nominated
2016 Circuit Community Awards Best Cinematography Silence Nominated
2016 Chicago Film Critics Association Best Cinematography Nominated
2016 Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Best Cinematography Runner-up
2016 Georgia Film Critics Association Best Cinematography Nominated
2016 International Cinephile Society Awards Best Cinematography Runner-up
2016 International Online Cinema Awards (INOCA) Best Cinematography Nominated
2016 National Society of Film Critics Best Cinematography Nominated
2016 Online Film & Television Association Best Cinematography Nominated
2016 Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards Best Cinematography Nominated
2016 San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle Best Cinematography Nominated
2019 Critics' Choice Awards Best Cinematography The Irishman Nominated
2019 Dublin Film Critics' Circle Best Cinematography 6th Place
2019 Houston Film Critics Society Best Cinematography Nominated
2019 Latino Entertainment Journalists
Association Film Awards 		Best Cinematography Nominated
2019 North Texas Film Critics Association Best Cinematography Nominated
2019 Online Film Critics Society Award Best Cinematography Nominated
2019 Phoenix Critics Circle Best Cinematography Nominated
2019 San Diego Film Critics Society Best Cinematography Nominated
2019 Satellite Awards Best Cinematography Nominated
2019 St. Louis Film Critics Association Best Cinematography Nominated
2019 Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Best Cinematography Nominated
2021 Vilcek Foundation Vilcek Prize in Filmmaking Won
2024 MTV Video Music Awards Best Cinematography Fortnight Nominated

See also

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References

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[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Rodrigo Prieto

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Rodrigo Prieto is a Mexican cinematographer and film director, celebrated for his emotive and innovative visual storytelling in collaboration with acclaimed directors such as , , and . Born on November 23, 1965, in to a Mexican father and American mother, Prieto developed an early passion for through creating stop-motion animations with his brother using an 8mm camera. He honed his craft studying at the Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica (CCC) in during a renaissance period for the Mexican film industry. Prieto began his professional career as a on Mexican films in 1988, gradually building a reputation for his meticulous lighting, inventive camera movements, and rich color palettes. His breakthrough came internationally with Iñárritu's (2000), followed by key works including (2005), Babel (2006), (2012), The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), (2016), (2019), (2023), and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023). For his contributions, Prieto—a member of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) and Asociación Mexicana de Cinematógrafos (AMC)—has received four Academy Award nominations for Best Cinematography, for Brokeback Mountain, Silence, The Irishman, and Killers of the Flower Moon, along with multiple BAFTA and ASC Award nominations. In recent years, Prieto has expanded into directing, with his feature debut (2024)—an adaptation of Juan Rulfo's novel.

Early life and education

Early life

Rodrigo Prieto was born on November 23, 1965, in , . He grew up in a bicultural family environment, with a Mexican father who had spent his early childhood in the United States and an American mother; his parents met while studying at , where his father pursued aeronautical engineering and his mother focused on art. This dual heritage exposed Prieto to both Mexican and American cultural influences from a young age, shaping his worldview in a middle-class household that placed a strong emphasis on education and the arts. As a child during the and , Prieto developed a keen interest in and . He explored stop-motion , collaborating with his older brother to produce short films like the three-minute Muñecos using their father's Bell and Howell Super 8 camera and clay or models; these early projects were inspired by classic films including Jason and the Argonauts. Prieto's formative years in Mexico City included significant exposure to cinema through family viewings of both international and local Mexican films, as well as the era's burgeoning film scene, which ignited his fascination with sci-fi stories and monster movies that he recreated in homemade experiments.

Education

Rodrigo Prieto enrolled at the Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica (CCC) in Mexico City in the early 1980s, Mexico's premier film school dedicated to practical training in filmmaking. Specializing in cinematography, he immersed himself in a curriculum that emphasized hands-on experience, allowing students to engage directly with equipment and production processes. His studies at CCC focused on core technical skills, including lighting techniques to evoke mood and atmosphere, camera operation for dynamic framing and movement, and overall workflows from planning to post-shoot . Prieto found the program's experimental approach particularly inspiring, as it encouraged creative problem-solving through real-world application rather than theoretical lectures alone. This environment honed his ability to blend artistic vision with technical precision, foundational to his later career. As part of his training, Prieto undertook several student-led experiments, serving as on collaborative projects that simulated professional sets and required managing limited resources effectively. These exercises, often involving narrative shorts and documentaries, provided early opportunities to test lighting setups, camera angles, and exposure in varied conditions. He graduated from CCC toward the end of the 1980s, emerging with a robust portfolio of practical work. The CCC's faculty and student body, drawn from Mexico's vibrant cinematic community, significantly shaped Prieto's technical proficiency and collaborative style. Instructors emphasized innovative uses of light and shadow rooted in Mexican film traditions, while interactions with peers fostered a shared commitment to through visuals. This formative network influenced his approach to , prioritizing emotional depth alongside technical mastery.

Career

Early career

Following his graduation from the Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica (CCC) in 1990, Rodrigo Prieto launched his professional career as a in , initially concentrating on commercials and documentaries to build his expertise. During his studies from 1985 to 1990, he balanced coursework with entry-level positions, serving as a camera assistant on television commercials and low-budget s, which provided hands-on experience in resource-constrained environments. He worked as a production and camera assistant starting from 1986, including on over 500 commercials. His first credit came with All of Them Witches (1996), directed by Daniel Gruener, earning him the Ariel Award for Best Cinematography. By the early 1990s, Prieto secured his first cinematography credits on short films and TV spots, including the short Luna de miel al cuarto menguante (1990), directed by Daniel Gruener. These projects allowed him to experiment within the Mexican advertising sector, which offered more consistent opportunities than feature films amid the industry's economic downturns. The Mexican film sector faced severe challenges during the 1980s and 1990s, including a prolonged that reduced annual production from hundreds of films in prior decades to fewer than 10 by the mid-1990s, prompting many cinematographers like Prieto to prioritize advertising for financial stability while honing their craft. In this formative phase, Prieto began shaping his distinctive stylistic approaches, emphasizing natural lighting to capture authentic environments and techniques for dynamic, intimate perspectives, techniques he refined through the improvisational demands of documentaries and low-budget commercials. These methods, influenced by the limitations of available equipment and budgets in Mexico's independent scene, laid the groundwork for his later innovations in visual storytelling.

Breakthrough films

Rodrigo Prieto's international breakthrough came with his on (2000), directed by , which garnered international acclaim. Shot entirely on location in using 35mm film with a handheld Moviecam XL and Zeiss Super Speed primes, the film captured the chaotic urban energy through kinetic camera movements and long, dynamic tracking shots that immersed viewers in the interconnected stories of violence, loss, and redemption. Prieto employed a bleach-bypass processing technique to achieve a desaturated, gritty color palette that enhanced the film's raw emotional intensity, contributing to its critical success, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. This project not only launched Prieto's international career but also played a pivotal role in the renaissance of Mexican cinema during the early 2000s, revitalizing local storytelling with innovative visual approaches. Building on this success, Prieto collaborated again with Iñárritu on (2003), his first major U.S.-based production, which exposed him to Hollywood's technical standards while maintaining his signature stylistic evolution. Filmed primarily in , using Vision 500T and 200T stocks processed with for a washed-out, desaturated look, the film featured fluid handheld tracking shots and that visually mirrored its hyperlinked narrative of grief and moral ambiguity. The project's intimate, documentary-like approach, with natural lighting and close-quarters , earned Prieto further recognition and solidified his reputation for blending emotional depth with technical precision. Prieto's work reached a global scale with Babel (2006), completing the informal trilogy with Iñárritu and exemplifying his ability to adapt his visual style to a sprawling, hyperlinked across cultures. Shot in multiple locations including , , , and the , Prieto differentiated the film's interwoven stories through varied film stocks, , and grain levels—employing desaturated tones in arid settings and more vibrant hues in urban ones—while using dynamic tracking shots to connect disparate threads of misunderstanding and tragedy. This technical innovation not only supported the film's thematic exploration of global interconnectedness but also marked Prieto's full transition to high-profile international productions, earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography.

Key collaborations

Rodrigo Prieto's collaboration with director on the 2002 biographical drama Frida showcased his ability to infuse historical storytelling with vivid visual energy, employing vibrant colors to evoke the surreal and passionate world of artist . Prieto's captured the film's Mexican settings through gaudy hues and unfiltered sunlight, contrasting with more subdued palettes for Kahlo's personal struggles, thereby enhancing the biographical elements of her life and art. In 2004, Prieto partnered with Oliver Stone on the epic Alexander, tackling the challenges of large-scale historical drama by designing a visual strategy that balanced grandeur with authenticity. His approach involved strategic use of colored filters to differentiate eras and regions in Alexander the Great's conquests, creating a sweeping scope that underscored the film's ambitious portrayal of ancient history while maintaining visual clarity across battle sequences and intimate moments. Prieto's work with on Brokeback Mountain (2005) highlighted his skill in conveying emotional depth through environmental storytelling, utilizing wide landscapes of to symbolize the characters' isolation and unspoken desires. He employed soft, moody lighting to foster intimacy in the protagonists' relationship, blending naturalistic exteriors with subtle tonal shifts that amplified the film's themes of forbidden love and regret. For Ben Affleck's (2012), Prieto contributed to building suspense in the thriller's recreation of the 1979 , using dynamic camera movements and period-accurate lighting to heighten tension during the film's climactic escape sequences. His visuals seamlessly integrated Hollywood with real-world peril, employing desaturated tones for Iranian scenes to contrast the glossy artifice of the fake movie production, thereby underscoring the high-stakes deception at the story's core. Prieto teamed with for The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), capturing the excesses of Wall Street through frenetic, handheld camerawork and bold that mirrored the protagonist's hedonistic descent. The blended chaotic energy in party scenes with sharper focus on moments of moral tension, using wide-angle lenses to exaggerate the scale of greed and debauchery while maintaining narrative drive. More recently, in Greta Gerwig's Barbie (2023), Prieto crafted a distinctive aesthetic that juxtaposed the hyper-saturated, artificial pink of Barbie Land against the muted, realistic tones of the human world, achieving "authentic artificiality" through custom lighting rigs and practical sets. This contrast visually represented the film's exploration of idealism versus reality, with Prieto's innovative use of filters and LED walls ensuring the fantastical elements felt tangible yet otherworldly.

Directing work

Rodrigo Prieto made his directorial debut with the short film in 2013, a personal exploration of and eating disorders starring as a young woman grappling with self-perception and societal pressures on beauty. The film, which Prieto also wrote and produced, draws from themes of identity and inner turmoil, earning a nomination for Best Narrative Short at the Tribeca Film Festival. In 2019, Prieto directed and shot the short R&R, a tense examining vengeance and the cyclical nature of , utilizing innovative to enhance its visual storytelling. Premiering at the International , the film showcases Prieto's ability to blend narrative drive with technical precision, shot on VENICE cameras with ZEISS Supreme Prime Radiance lenses to create a haunting atmosphere. Prieto's feature directorial debut came with (2024), an adaptation of Juan Rulfo's seminal 1955 novel, co-written by and filmed on location in to capture the story's magical realism through dusty landscapes and ghostly visions. Prieto also served as , emphasizing atmospheric visuals that transition between crime drama and surreal elements, such as day-for-night sequences and ethereal lighting to evoke the novel's blend of the living and the dead. The film premiered at the in September 2024 before its release in November 2024, receiving praise for its evocative imagery while critics noted its deliberate pacing as both a strength and a challenge in conveying emotional depth. Transitioning to directing has presented Prieto with significant challenges in balancing his established career, particularly in managing time constraints on set while ensuring comprehensive coverage amid unpredictable elements like weather and actor performances. For , the tight production schedule in rural amplified these difficulties, requiring Prieto to oversee both creative vision and technical execution without compromising the film's intimate, otherworldly tone.

Personal life

Family

Rodrigo Prieto has been married to Mónica Chiapa since , 1991. The couple has two daughters, Maria Fernanda and Ximena. Prieto and his lead a relatively private life, with limited public details about their personal dynamics beyond occasional appearances at industry events. For instance, his wife Monica and daughter Maria Fernanda attended the premiere of Killers of the Flower Moon in October 2023. Prieto has collaborated closely with his daughter Ximena on personal projects, including co-writing a inspired by her experience with an , highlighting the supportive role of in his creative endeavors. In October 2025, his daughter María Fernanda competed at the with her , continuing the family's engagement in filmmaking. In the early phases of his career, Prieto frequently relocated between and the with his family before establishing a home in , which helped foster a stable support system amid his growing professional demands. He has openly discussed the challenges of maintaining work-life balance in his field, emphasizing the importance of family proximity for projects and the fulfillment derived from his passion for despite a hectic schedule.

Residence

Rodrigo Prieto has maintained his primary residence in , , since the late 1990s, when he relocated there at age 33 to pursue opportunities in feature filmmaking after years of working on commercials in . His home in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood serves as a personal creative space, featuring a two-story with airy rooms filled with curated artworks and artifacts collected from his global travels, reflecting his artistic influences and professional experiences. Prieto identifies as both and American, owing to his heritage as the son of a father and an American mother, and he maintains strong cultural ties to through frequent travel between the two countries. This dual connection allows him to navigate life across borders, viewing as the home of his roots and the as his professional base. His residence has significantly impacted his career by providing proximity to major Hollywood studios and fostering key collaborations with directors like and , enabling seamless integration into the industry's epicenter. Prieto shares this home with his wife, Monica, and their two daughters, Maria Fernanda and Ximena, who occasionally join him at film premieres and events, blending family life with his professional world.

Filmography

Feature films as cinematographer

Rodrigo Prieto's contributions as a cinematographer on feature films span a diverse array of projects, where he has employed innovative techniques in , composition, and camera movement to underscore emotional and thematic elements. His collaborations with directors like , , and highlight his versatility in capturing both intimate human stories and expansive landscapes, often using film stocks and formats tailored to each narrative's tone.
YearTitleDirectorVisual Style Contribution
2000Amores PerrosAlejandro González IñárrituUtilized bleach bypass processing and handheld camerawork to deliver a raw, desaturated aesthetic that mirrors the film's chaotic urban violence and interconnected fates.
2002FridaJulie TaymorEmployed vibrant, saturated colors and dynamic framing to evoke the artistic vibrancy and emotional turmoil of Frida Kahlo's life.
200225th HourSpike LeeUsed stark, high-contrast lighting in New York City settings to reflect the protagonist's isolation and impending downfall.
200321 GramsAlejandro González IñárrituApplied handheld camerawork and natural lighting to intensify the fragmented, nonlinear narrative of loss and connection.
2005Brokeback MountainAng LeeCaptured the vast, isolating Wyoming wilderness with natural light and subtle color grading to evoke the characters' unspoken longing and emotional restraint.
2006BabelAlejandro González IñárrituDifferentiated global storylines through varied film stocks, formats, and lenses—such as anamorphic for heightened intimacy—to reflect cultural disconnections and personal turmoil.
2012ArgoBen AffleckUtilized tense, documentary-style handheld shots and period-accurate lighting to heighten the suspense of the CIA's Hollywood operation.
2013The Wolf of Wall StreetMartin ScorseseEmployed dynamic handheld shots and vibrant, high-contrast lighting to convey the frenetic excess and moral decay of Wall Street's high-stakes world.
2016SilenceMartin ScorseseDrew from baroque painting influences with 35mm film to render misty, ethereal Japanese landscapes and shadowed interiors, emphasizing spiritual isolation and natural beauty.
2019The IrishmanMartin ScorseseTransitioned from warm, saturated tones in early scenes to desaturated palettes over decades, using digital formats to subtly age the visuals alongside the characters' regrets.
2023BarbieGreta GerwigCreated a hyper-saturated, pastel-drenched artificiality for Barbie Land with practical sets and LED lighting, shifting to naturalistic hues in the real world for tonal contrast.
2023Killers of the Flower MoonMartin ScorseseBlended muted autochrome-inspired colors with naturalistic wide shots on 35mm film to authentically depict 1920s Oklahoma landscapes and the Osage Nation's cultural depth.

Television as cinematographer

Rodrigo Prieto's contributions to television as a are notably limited compared to his extensive portfolio, with only a handful of projects spanning the and that served as occasional bridges between his major cinematic endeavors. These works primarily consist of documentaries and , allowing Prieto to apply his signature visual style—characterized by intimate framing and atmospheric lighting—to formats amid gaps in his feature schedule. His most prominent television credit is the 2017 Showtime miniseries , a four-part documentary directed by . Prieto served as director of photography alongside , capturing over 30 hours of interviews with Russian President conducted in and between 2015 and 2017. The series, which aired in June 2017, explores Putin's perspectives on , history, and personal life through Stone's probing questions, with Prieto's emphasizing the stark, introspective settings of the interviews to heighten their tension and intimacy. This project bridged Prieto's work on Stone's Snowden (2016) and his subsequent collaborations with on (2016), providing a documentary outlet for his expertise in political and historical narratives. Earlier in his career, Prieto's television involvement was even sparser, with no confirmed episodic or pilot work in the 2000s beyond potential uncredited contributions to specials or miniseries-adjacent projects, underscoring his primary focus on theatrical releases during that period. By the 2010s, stood as his key foray into broadcast television, demonstrating his adaptability to the medium's constraints while maintaining the emotional depth seen in his features.

Music videos as cinematographer

Rodrigo Prieto has contributed his expertise to several notable music videos, bringing a cinematic depth influenced by his work, including sophisticated and narrative-driven visuals. His collaborations often emphasize atmospheric lighting and symbolic imagery, echoing the emotional intensity seen in films like and The Wolf of Wall Street. Prieto's early foray into music videos in the 2010s included the 2012 clip for Lana Del Rey's "Blue Jeans," directed by Yoann Lemoine. Shot in a Pasadena pool, the video evokes classic old-school Hollywood with elements, featuring underwater sequences and dramatic shadows that highlight themes of doomed romance. Prieto's earned a nomination for Best Cinematography in a Music Video at the 2012 . In 2017, Prieto served as director of photography for Jay-Z's "MaNyfaCedGod" (featuring James Blake), directed by . The black-and-white video presents an abstract portrayal of a couple navigating relational turmoil, starring , with Prieto's stark contrasts and fluid camera movements underscoring the song's introspective tone. Prieto's 2019 work on Travis Scott's "Wake Up" (featuring ), directed by , further demonstrated his versatility in high-energy, surreal setups. The video's dynamic framing and vibrant color palette captured the track's psychedelic energy, blending live-action with abstract effects. The 2020s marked Prieto's most prolific period in music videos, primarily through repeated collaborations with . For "The Man," Prieto's visuals satirically referenced gender dynamics with bold, high-contrast shots reminiscent of his work on The Wolf of Wall Street. In "cardigan" and "willow"—both from Swift's era—Prieto crafted ethereal, forest-inspired aesthetics. "Cardigan" featured intimate, nostalgic lighting, while "willow" incorporated mystical elements like natural foliage and magical transitions to evoke a dreamlike , shot in just days with Swift's detailed input on framing and mood. Prieto's high-profile music video credits include Swift's "" (featuring , ), which he described as a surreal, narrative-driven piece aligning with the The Tortured Poets Department album's themes. The video's symbolic imagery, including cameos by actors like and , and its blend of 1950s-inspired sets with modern abstraction, earned a 2024 MTV Video Music Award nomination for Best Cinematography. Prieto's here linked back to his feature films, using desaturated tones to heighten emotional tension. In 2025, Prieto continued his collaboration with Swift on "The Fate of Ophelia," directed by Swift. The video features intricate choreography and dreamlike visuals, with Prieto's employing fluid camera movements and soft lighting to enhance the song's themes of fate and introspection, released on October 5, 2025.

Films as director

Rodrigo Prieto made his directorial debut with the short film in 2013. This eight-minute work stars as a young woman grappling with issues and eating disorders, drawing from Prieto's personal experience with his daughter's struggles with anorexia. The film premiered at the Film Festival and was produced by Jacqueline Bosnjak, Lilly Hartley, and Rhea Scott, emphasizing visual storytelling to confront societal pressures on female self-perception. In 2019, Prieto directed and wrote the short film R&R, a narrative exploring themes of vengeance and the cyclical nature of crime. Shot on Sony VENICE cameras with ZEISS Supreme Prime Radiance lenses—the first project to utilize these full-frame lenses—the film features actors including Kevin Chacon and Jeff Gerfen. It premiered at the Camerimage International Film Festival, showcasing Prieto's technical expertise in cinematography integrated into his directing. Prieto's feature-length directorial debut, (2024), adapts Juan Rulfo's seminal 1955 Mexican novel of the same name, following a man's journey to a haunted by his father's legacy of power and violence. Starring Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as the protagonist Juan Preciado, alongside and Dolores Heredia, the film was shot on location in to capture the story's rural, supernatural atmosphere. Produced for and premiered at the , it blends crime drama with surreal elements, marking Prieto's transition to narrative feature direction. The film was released on on November 6, 2024.

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards

Rodrigo Prieto has earned four Academy Award nominations in the Best Cinematography category for his work on Brokeback Mountain (2005), Silence (2016), The Irishman (2019), and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), but he has yet to secure a win. Each nomination occurred in a fiercely competitive field, often featuring innovative technical achievements and contributions from previous Oscar winners, highlighting the category's emphasis on visual storytelling and technical mastery. Prieto's debut nomination arrived at the , held on March 5, 2006, for his evocative wide-angle in , directed by . He competed against for The New World, for Good Night, and Good Luck, for , and for , with Beebe ultimately winning for his lush, period-specific visuals in the latter film. The category that year showcased a blend of epic landscapes and intimate narratives, underscoring Prieto's ability to capture emotional depth in challenging outdoor settings. At the on February 26, 2017, Prieto was nominated for , Martin Scorsese's introspective drama about faith and persecution, praised for its meticulous use of natural light to evoke historical authenticity. His fellow nominees included for (the winner, lauded for its vibrant, dreamlike musical sequences), for Arrival, for , and for . The competition reflected a strong push toward diverse visual styles, from sci-fi to intimate character studies, with voters favoring Sandgren's bold color palette as a standout innovation. Prieto received his third nod at the , presented on February 9, 2020, for , where his de-aging effects and long-take sequences supported Scorsese's reflective crime saga. He vied against for 1917 (the winner, celebrated for its groundbreaking single-shot illusion in a war epic), for Joker, for , and Robert Richardson for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. This year's field was marked by technical ambition, particularly in immersive action and psychological realism, where Deakins' immersive wartime visuals edged out the others according to voters. His most recent nomination was announced for the on March 10, 2024, recognizing Killers of the Flower Moon and its expansive depiction of early 20th-century landscapes and intimate Osage perspectives. Prieto competed with for Oppenheimer (the winner, acclaimed for its stark, high-contrast portrayal of scientific turmoil), for Maestro, Robbie Ryan for , and for El Conde. The category highlighted contrasting approaches to period authenticity and , with van Hoytema's precise framing cited by industry observers as a decisive factor in the outcome.

Other major awards

Rodrigo Prieto received BAFTA nominations for Best for his work on Brokeback Mountain (2006), Babel (2007), (2017), (2020), and Killers of the Flower Moon (2024). Prieto has received American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Award nominations for Outstanding Achievement in for Frida (2003), Brokeback Mountain (2006), (2017), (2020), and Killers of the Flower Moon (2024). In 2021, he was awarded the Vilcek Prize in Filmmaking by the Vilcek Foundation, recognizing his contributions as an immigrant artist in the field. For Killers of the Flower Moon, Prieto received a BAFTA nomination for Best Cinematography in 2024, as well as an ASC Award nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography. That year, he was honored with the International Cinematographers Guild's Distinguished Filmmaker at the 26th Annual Emerging Cinematographer Awards, celebrating his innovative visual storytelling. Also in 2024, Prieto won the MTV Video Music for Best Cinematography for his work on Taylor Swift's "Fortnight" featuring . In 2025, he received an ASC nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in a Music Video for "Fortnight." In 2025, for his directorial debut Pedro Páramo, Prieto shared the Ariel Award for Best Cinematography with Nico Aguilar. He also won the Diosa de Plata (Silver Goddess) Awards for Best Direction and Best Film.

References

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