Jury Member and legendary DP Ellen Kuras wrote: "All of these films considered for the cinematography award stand out for the visual stories that they tell and the humanity they touch. There is alive the spirit of independence and the deep desire to tell a story with a singular voice that speaks of our human existence... The film selected is a beautifully expressed film in many, many ways - including the cinematography. The shadow and the light in the images played as much a part in telling the story as the acting and the text. Deftly using color palette, texture, and a shallow depth of field, the cinematographer imbued the images with a dramatic resonance to the imagery, while the handheld gave the film an engaged, intimate feel. We were drawn in by the images and by the camera's point of view. Hence the cinematography played an incredibly important part of the story."