The 20th Annual American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
will be held on February 26, 2006, at the Century Plaza Hotel. Nominees for Outstanding Achievement Awards for feature films released in 2005 will be announced on January 11. ASC will unveil nominees for Outstanding Achievement
Awards in the narrative television competition on January 18. The television categories are for an episode of a series, and TV movies/miniseries/pilots that aired on network and pay-per-view/cable channels in 2005.
“This annual celebration was inaugurated in 1986 for the purpose of recognizing and inspiring the pursuit of excellence in the art and craft of cinematography,” says Russ Alsobrook, ASC, chairman of the 20th Annual ASC
Awards Committee. “The reality is that artful cinematography is generally designed to be transparent to audiences. That is why ASC members felt it was important to have an event where judging is done solely by peers.”
ASC will also present Lifetime and International Achievement awards to cinematographers whose distinguished bodies of work have earned the respect of their peers. Board of Governors and Presidents Awards will be presented to individuals who have made exceptional contributions to advancing the art of filmmaking, and a Heritage Award to a deserving student.
ASC will also host an open house and Internet chat where colleagues, fans, students and the media can interact with the honorees and nominees from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on February 25 at the ASC clubhouse located at 1782 N. Orange
Drive in Hollywood.
ASC was founded in 1919 by 15 individuals who were pioneers in the invention of a new art form. Their primary purpose was to provide a forum for discussing ideas for advancing the art of cinematography. Membership was by invitation
based on the individual’s body of narrative work. There are currently some 275 active ASC members today with roots in many different countries, and 140 associate members who work in ancillary sectors of the industry that support
the art and craft of cinematography.
