Early life

Lubezki was born to a Jewish family in Mexico City, Mexico. His father is actor and producer Muni Lubezki. Lubezki studied film at Mexico’s Centro Universitario de Estudios Cinematográficos (CUEC), where he met future collaborators Alejandro González Iñárritu and Alfonso Cuarón.

Career

Lubezki began his career in Mexican film and television productions in the late 1980s. His first international production was the 1993 independent film Twenty Bucks, which followed the journey of a single twenty-dollar bill.

Lubezki is a frequent collaborator with fellow Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón. The two have been friends since they were teenagers and attended the same film school at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Together they have worked on six motion pictures: Sólo Con Tu Pareja, A Little Princess, Great Expectations, Y Tu Mamá También, Children of Men, and Gravity. His work with Cuarón on Children of Men (2006), has received universal acclaim. The film utilized a number of new technologies and distinctive techniques. The "roadside ambush" scene was shot in one extended take utilizing a special camera rig invented by Doggicam systems, developed from the company's Power Slide system. For the scene, a vehicle was modified to enable seats to tilt and lower actors out of the way of the camera. The windshield of the car was designed to tilt out of the way to allow camera movement in and out through the front windscreen. A crew of four, including Lubezki, rode on the roof. Children of Men also features a seven-and-a-half-minute battle sequence composed of roughly five seamless edits.

Lubezki won his first Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work on Cuarón's Gravity, a science-fiction thriller set in outer space. The film was praised for the way it combined two shots through digital backgrounds of space to create the illusion of scenes done in a single shot. Lubezki won his second Academy Award for Best Cinematography in the following year for his work on Alejandro González Iñárritu's Birdman. The film used a similar technique from Gravity, being very unusual in the way the entire movie was shot so as to appear to be photographed in one continuous take. Lubezki won the award again in 2016 for Iñárritu's The Revenant, becoming a milestone for his third consecutive win and for being the first cinematographer to do so. The film was shot entirely in the wilderness during a cold season, limiting the use of CGI and using only natural lighting. It was an extremely dificult process that required a limited amount of time to shoot each scene, which delayed the production, causing budget overruns and change locations for a proper setting. However, The Revenant earned over $500 million at the box office and received critical acclaim, with many praise towards the film's atmospheric tone and realism.

Filmography (partial)

Year	Film	Director	Note
1991	Sólo Con Tu Pareja	Alfonso Cuarón	International Title: Love in the Time of Hysteria
	Bandits	Luis Estrada
1992	Como agua para chocolate	Alfonso Aráu	International Title: Like Water for Chocolate Ariel Award for Best Cinematography
1993	Fallen Angels	Alfonso Cuarón Steven Soderbergh	TV Series: 2 Episodes
	Twenty Bucks	Keva Rosenfeld
	Miroslava	Alejandro Pelayo
	The Harvest	David Marconi
1994	Ámbar	Luis Estrada
	Reality Bites	Ben Stiller
1995	A Walk in the Clouds	Alfonso Aráu
	A Little Princess	Alfonso Cuarón	Nominated-Academy Award for Best Cinematography
1996	The Birdcage	Mike Nichols
1998	Meet Joe Black	Martin Brest
	Great Expectations	Alfonso Cuarón
1999	Sleepy Hollow	Tim Burton	Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography Satellite Award for Best Cinematography Nominated-Academy Award for Best Cinematography Nominated-ASC Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases
2000	Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her	Rodrigo García
2001	Ali	Michael Mann
	Y Tu Mamá También	Alfonso Cuarón
2002	De Mesmer, con amor o Te para dos	Salvador Aguirre Alejandro Lubezki	Short Film International Title: From Mesmer, With Love or Tea for Two
2003	The Cat in the Hat	Bo Welch
2004	The Assassination of Richard Nixon	Niels Mueller	Also Associate Producer
	Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events	Brad Silberling	Nominated-Satellite Award for Best Cinematography
2005	The New World	Terrence Malick	Nominated-Academy Award for Best Cinematography Nominated-Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography
2006	Children of Men	Alfonso Cuarón	ASC Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases Austin Film Critics Association for Best Cinematography Awards Circuit Community Award for Best Cinematography BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography Nominated-Academy Award for Best Cinematography
2007	To Each His Own Cinema	Alejandro González Iñárritu	Segment: "Anna"
2008	Burn After Reading	Joel and Ethan Coen
2010	Write the Future	Alejandro González Iñárritu	TV Commercial
2011	The Tree of Life	Terrence Malick	ASC Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases Austin Film Critics Association for Best Cinematography Awards Circuit Community Award for Best Cinematography Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cinematography Houston Film Critics Society for Best Cinematography Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cinematography New York Film Critics Online for Best Cinematography Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association for Best Cinematography Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography Nominated-Academy Award for Best Cinematography Nominated-International Online Film Critics' Poll Award for Cinematography Nominated-Satellite Award for Best Cinematography
2012	To the Wonder	Terrence Malick	San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography
2013	Gravity	Alfonso Cuarón	Academy Award for Best Cinematography Alliance of Women Film Journalists for Best Cinematography ASC Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases Austin Film Critics Association for Best Cinematography BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cinematography Houston Film Critics Society for Best Cinematography International Online Film Critics' Poll Award for Best Cinematography Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography New York Film Critics Online for Best Cinematography Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography San Francisco Film Critics Circle for Best Cinematography Satellite Award for Best Cinematography St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association for Best Cinematography Utah Film Critics Association for Best Cinematography Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association for Best Cinematography
2014	Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)	Alejandro González Iñárritu	Academy Award for Best Cinematography ASC Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography Hollywood Film Awards for Best Cinematography Houston Film Critics Society for Best Cinematography Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography New York Film Critics Online for Best Cinematography St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association for Best Cinematography Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography Nominated-Satellite Award for Best Cinematography
2015	Last Days in the Desert	Rodrigo García
	Knight of Cups	Terrence Malick
	The Revenant	Alejandro González Iñárritu	Academy Award for Best Cinematography ASC Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Cinematography Film Arts Movie Award for Best Cinematography Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics for Best Cinematography North Texas Film Critics Association for Best Cinematography St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association for Best Cinematography Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography Nominated-Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award for Best Cinematography Nominated-San Francisco Film Critics Circle for Best Cinematography Nominated-Satellite Award for Best Cinematography
2016	Weightless	Terrence Malick

Awards and nominations

Award	Wins	Nominations
Academy Awards	3	8
BAFTA Film Awards	4	4
ASC Awards	5	6
Independent Spirit Awards	1	1

Industry awards

Academy Award for Best Cinematography

• 1995: A Little Princess (nominated)
• 1999: Sleepy Hollow (nominated)
• 2005: The New World (nominated)
• 2006: Children of Men (nominated)
• 2011: The Tree of Life (nominated)
• 2013: Gravity (won)
• 2014: Birdman (won)
• 2015: The Revenant (won)

American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography

• 1999: Sleepy Hollow (nominated)
• 2006: Children of Men (won)
• 2011: The Tree of Life (won)
• 2013: Gravity (won)
• 2014: Birdman (won)
• 2015: The Revenant (won)

Ariel Awards

• 1991: Sólo Con Tu Pareja (nominated)
• 1992: Como agua para chocolate (won)
• 1994: Ámbar (won)

Australian Cinematographers Society Awards

• 2006: Children of Men (won)
• 2011: The Tree of Life (won)

BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography

• 2006: Children of Men (won)
• 2013: Gravity (won)
• 2014: Birdman (won)
• 2015: The Revenant (won)

British Society of Cinematographers Awards

• 2006: Children of Men (nominated)
• 2011: The Tree of Life (nominated)
• 2013: Gravity (nominated)
• 2014: Birdman (nominated)

CableACE Awards

• 1993: Fallen Angels (won)

Camerimage

• 2011: The Tree of Life − Golden Frog (nominated)
• 2013: Gravity − Best 3D Feature Film (won)
• 2014: Birdman − Golden Frog (nominated)

Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography

• 2014: Birdman (won)

Critics awards

Alliance of Women Film Journalists

• 2011: The Tree of Life (won)
• 2013: Gravity (won)
• 2014: Birdman (won)
• 2015: The Revenant (won)

Austin Film Critics Association Awards

• 2006: Children of Men (won)
• 2011: The Tree of Life (won)
• 2013: Gravity (won)
• 2014: Birdman (won)
• 2015: The Revenant (nominated)

Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography

• 1999: Sleepy Hollow (won)
• 2011: The Tree of Life (won)
• 2013: Gravity (won)
• 2014: Birdman (won)
• 2015: The Revenant (runner-up)

Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography

• 1999: Sleepy Hollow (nominated)
• 2005: The New World (nominated)
• 2006: Children of Men (nominated)
• 2011: The Tree of Life (won)
• 2013: Gravity (won)
• 2014: Birdman (won)
• 2015: The Revenant (nominated)

Critics' Choice Award for Best Cinematography

• 2011: The Tree of Life (won)
• 2013: Gravity (won)
• 2014: Birdman (won)
• 2015: The Revenant (won)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]