British cinematographer Lol Crawley has said it was “overwhelming” winning his first Oscar for The Brutalist.
Crawley, who grew up in Wales, took home the best cinematography gong for the drama, which also secured the coveted best actor award for Adrien Brody and best original score.
Appearing on BBC Breakfast on Monday, the filmmaker described the moment when his name was read out as the winner of his category as “extraordinary”.
'A victory for Wales'
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) March 3, 2025
British Oscar winner Lol Crawley told #BBCBreakfast he plans to return to his old school with his award after winning Best Cinematography for 'The Brutalist'https://t.co/u4H6wFKUXR pic.twitter.com/JAHxEN1qpG
“I mean, overwhelming, and after such a long journey you know,” he said.
He continued: “It’s wonderful and I really just hope that, more than anything, all of this attention, accolades, and also the fact that people are seeing the movie, that it’s going to expand the conversations about what cinema can be.
“I feel like we’ve been slightly constrained by the length of the movies, by the format we shoot on and I feel like it’s kind of blown it out the water and event cinema.”
Directed and co-written by Brady Corbet, The Brutalist follows the story of a Hungarian-Jewish architect, played by Brody, who is separated from his wife Erzsebet, played by Felicity Jones, and orphaned niece as he flees Nazi extermination to the US.
Of the intermission in the 215-minute-long film, Crawley said the break was “in the script” when he read it.
He continued: “I remember when I was a kid, our nearest cinema was a place called Oswestry on the Welsh-English border and I went to see BMX Bandits, there was an intermission.
“That movie had an intermission, but it was unplanned.
“Suddenly, the film came to a screeching halt, and you went and bought an ice cream.
“So at least with this one, it’s considered – the intermission is considered where it’s placed.”
Asked how much the award meant to Wales, the cinematographer said he was “very proud”.
He added: ”It doesn’t seem that long since I was there, to be quite honest but I have a huge affection for that country.”
Cinematography has proved something of an Oscars success story for the UK in recent years, with British talent winning the award four times in the past decade.
Another British winner, Paul Lambert – who was part of the visual effects team for science fiction epic Dune: Part Two, starring Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya, said he felt “terrified” about going onto the stage in front of the live audience to collect his award.
Of his Oscar, which is the fourth of his career, Lambert told BBC Breakfast: “It doesn’t get any easier, you get terrified because you know that you’re going up in front of like 1,000 people but it’s a great honour to be honoured in this way by the Academy.”
The special effects artist has previously picked up gongs for his work on Blade Runner 2049, Dune and First Man.
