FilmLight Colour Awards Unveils First Group of Jurors for 2026 Edition

LONDON — 29 July 2026: FilmLight has announced the first wave of international talent lined up to judge the 2026 FilmLight Colour Awards. Now in its sixth year, the awards continue to serve as a global platform honouring the artistry, technique and narrative power of colourists across five distinct categories: Theatrical Feature, Television Series/Episodic, Commercial, Emerging Talent, and Spotlight & Documentary.

This year’s initial jury selection brings together a mix of award-winning cinematographers, industry-shaping colourists and former FilmLight Colour Award winners returning to judge the next generation of talent.

The first lineup of judges includes:

• Katelin Arizmendi, ASC: An award-winning American cinematographer, recognised for her distinct dark, naturalistic, and evocative visual style. She is best known for her work on ‘Cam’, ‘Swallow’, ‘Charm City Kings’, ‘Monica’, ‘National Anthem’, ‘Your Mother, Your Mother, Your Mother’ and ‘Succession’.

• Tony D’Amore: A senior Colourist and Director of Creative Workflow at Picture Shop. Tony won a FilmLight Colour Award for his work on the acclaimed series ‘Fargo’, has graded multiple Emmy winners for Cinematography, and is an HPA Award nominee for Outstanding Color Grading. His other credits include hit projects such as ‘The Pitt’, Mayans M.C.’, ‘Daredevil’, ‘Jessica Jones’, and ‘Legion’, among many others.

• Chung-hoon Chung, ASC: A Korean American cinematographer based in Seoul and Los Angeles. He first gained international recognition through his long-standing collaboration with acclaimed director Park Chan-wook, serving as cinematographer on two films in Park’s celebrated Vengeance Trilogy—Oldboy and Lady Vengeance. He continued the creative partnership on Thirst, Stoker, and The Handmaiden.
  His diverse body of work ranges from the Sundance-winning Me and Earl and the Dying Girl to blockbusters such as It, Uncharted, Last Night in Soho, Wonka, and Heretic. He most recently shot Edgar Wright’s The Running Man for Paramount Pictures.

• Jeff Cronenweth, ASC: Two-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer Jeff is known for his compelling and creative lensing across film, television, commercials and music videos.
  Cronenweth earned Academy Award and ASC nominations for his acclaimed work on David Fincher’s ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ and ‘The Social Network’, continuing a longstanding collaboration that began with his feature debut on ‘Fight Club’ in 1999.
  Most recently, he was behind the lens for David Weils’ ‘Tyrant’, Joachim Rønning’s ‘TRON: Ares’, and the Xbox commercial ‘Wake Up’, directed by Romain Chassaing and co-directed by David Fincher. The ad earned Bronze Lions at Cannes Lions for Colour Correction/Grading and Production Design.

• Franziska Heinemann: A freelance colourist and director who is a three-time FilmLight Colour Awards nominee and winner of the 2025 Commercial category for her work on ‘Bluff Bounce – Prologue’. Franziska’s clients span from Adidas to Doctors Without Borders, Benetton, BMW, Google and Vogue. When she isn’t grading, Franziska directs documentaries and NGO films.

• Natalie Kingston, ASC: An Emmy-winning cinematographer based in Los Angeles and known for her striking, emotionally driven visual language. Her work on the Apple TV+ series ‘Black Bird’ earned her a Primetime Emmy, making her the first woman to win in any narrative television cinematography category. Kingston’s work has screened at festivals including Camerimage, Cannes, Tribeca and SXSW. Outside of film and television, Kingston lenses music videos and commercials. She has collaborated with artists including Billie Eilish, and her commercial work has been recognized at Cannes Lions.

• László Kovács: A senior colourist at the National Film Institute Hungarian Filmlab. His filmography includes numerous critically acclaimed projects including László Nemes’ ‘The Orphan’, ‘Son of Saul’ and ‘Sunset’, and Ildikó Enyedi’s ‘On Body and Soul’ and ‘The Story of My Wife’.

• Edgar Lebron: A colourist based in Puerto Rico, currently working with Reaktor Post. He is a two-time Latin Grammy winner for his colour work on Residente’s music videos, and his colour work on the film ‘Esta Isla’ earned Best Cinematography at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival, along with a John Cassavetes Award.

•  Paul Lear: With over 34 years of experience, Paul Lear grades content for the largest screen in the world as Sphere Studio’s first full-time colourist.  His work includes the ‘Wizard of Oz at Sphere’ Experience and residencies of the Eagles, Kenny Chesney, Zac Brown, and No Doubt.

• Xiaolong Liu: A cinematographer with a distinctive and expressive visual language, Xiaolong has worked on campaigns for brands including Apple, Nike, Mercedes-Benz, Coca-Cola, and Adidas. In the music video world, his creative collaborations include Kendrick Lamar (winning the 2025 MTV Video Music Award for Best Cinematography for ‘Not Like Us’), Lady Gaga, The Weeknd, Beyoncé, and Billie Eilish.

• Malu Miranda: A Brazilian colourist and photographer. She began her career in colour at O2 Filmes, founded by Academy Award-nominated director Fernando Meirelles. She has also lived and worked in Barcelona and in Ireland, where she refined her colour grading practice under the mentorship of senior colourist Leandro Arouca. Today, Malu specializes in documentaries, short films, music videos, and commercial productions.

• Jin-young Park: A South Korean colourist with over two decades of experience in feature films and premium streaming. Her credits include ‘The Fortress’, ‘Parasite’ (B&W version), ‘Decision to Leave’, ‘Exhuma’, Netflix’s ‘Squid Game’ Seasons 2 & 3, and most recently, Na Hong-jin’s ‘Hope’.

• Ula Pontikos, BSC: An award-winning cinematographer known for her emotional storytelling and technical precision. Her recent work includes Prime Video’s Blade Runner 2099 and the thriller The Man in My Basement. She earned Emmy and ASC Awards nominations for Season 2 of Russian Doll, building on acclaim for early career hits like Weekend, Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool, and the Sundance-winning Lilting.

• Máté Ternyik: Since going freelance in 2019, Máté has graded a number of critically acclaimed features including Ildikó Enyedi’s ‘Silent Friend’ (2025), Sophie Romvari’s ‘Blue Heron’ (2025), and Brady Corbet’s ‘The Brutalist’ (2024), which was recognised with an Academy Award for Cinematography and earned him a FilmLight Colour Award.

• Adolpho Veloso, ABC, AIP: The first Brazilian cinematographer to receive an Academy Award nomination. His work on ‘Train Dreams’ also earned a Critics Choice Award, an Independent Spirit Award, and nominations from BAFTA and the ASC Awards. His other credits include the feature films ‘Jockey’, ‘Queen at Sea’, ‘Mosquito’, and ‘Rodantes’, and an extensive body of work in music videos.

“Colour has always been an important part of the way I tell stories. It helps create emotion and gives each film its own identity.” Says cinematographer Chung hoon Chung, ASC. “I’m honoured to join this year’s jury, and I look forward to discovering inspiring work from filmmakers around the world.”

The remaining members of the jury, including the Jury President, will be announced in the coming weeks.

Submissions for the 2026 FilmLight Colour Awards are open to colourists, using any grading platform.

Entries close on 31 July 2026. The shortlist will be unveiled in the autumn, culminating in a celebration and awards presentation at the ToruńCAMERIMAGE festival in November 2026.