The work of Australian cinematographer Stefan Duscio (b. 1981) is characterised by fluid camera movements and a masterful use of light. His authentic and innovative approach to cinematic naturalism has made him a highly regarded collaborator of directors Robert Connolly, Leigh Whannell, JD Dillard, and Mirrah Foulkes, with whom he has pushed the art of visual storytelling.

This year, Duscio won the Gold Tripod for Best Cinematography in a feature film for The Dry and the prestigious Milli Award for the ACS Australian Cinematographer of the Year, the highest award an Australian cinematographer can receive. The journey to adapt Jane Harper’s international bestseller The Dry was led by prolific Australian producer Bruna Papandrea (best known for Big Little Lies) and director Robert Connolly.

Duscio grew up in rural Australia and developed an early interest in photography and visual storytelling, studying Media Arts at RMIT University in Melbourne.

A chance encounter with the late Oscar-winning cinematographer Andrew Lesnie in a cinema foyer landed him his first job in the camera department for the Lord of the Rings trilogy in New Zealand. Lesnie’s ability to use natural light to create both grandeur and intimacy for Peter Jackson’s vision made a lasting impact.

His first jobs in the Australian film industry as a camera assistant saw him working with young directors and cinematographers, including Greig Fraser, Germain McMicking, and peers Ari Wegner and Adam Arkapaw.

In the narrative realm, Duscio had the opportunity to connect with young filmmaker Aaron Wilson to shoot the wartime drama Canopy in Singapore. He followed this with Galore, the debut feature film by Rhys Graham, which earned him his first Gold Award at the ACS Awards for Best Cinematography. This started him on a string of films with Angus Sampson’s The Mule, which premiered at South by Southwest in Austin in 2014, followed by Backtrack alongside director Michael Petroni, starring Adrian Brody, Greg McLean’s Jungle, and Leigh Whannell’s cult hit Upgrade. From there, he returned to independent work with Mirrah Foulkes’ Judy and Punch, nominated for a Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival (2019), and then launched into Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man (2020), a science fiction thriller based on a novel by HG Wells starring Elizabeth Moss, for which he won the Australian Academy of Cinematography Award. The Invisible Man was the number one film at the worldwide box office in 2022 for two weeks.

Despite the pandemic challenges imposed on the film industry, he displayed organisational aplomb, directing the photography for the new highly anticipated Apple TV+ series Shantaram. Produced by Paramount and Anonymous, run by executive producer Steve Lightfoot and director Bharat Nalluri, Duscio rose to the challenge of marshalling multiple large-scale units across Melbourne, Bangkok, and Mumbai in 2021-2022. The 12-episode adaptation of Gregory David Roberts’ novel Shantaram is due to be released on October 14.

Duscio has shot hundreds of commercials and music videos, including two music videos for Beyoncé’s self-titled visual album, Mine and Ghost.

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