American director/cinematographer Ellen Kuras will speak about her groundbreaking and visionary work which includes narrative and documentary films, music videos, and commercials in both the studio and independent worlds.

Kuras is one of the first female members of the American Society of Cinematographers and was also the first woman to receive its Lifetime Achievement award. She is a pioneer known for her work on Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) and Blow (2001). Directors with whom she has closely collaborated include Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee, Sam Mendes, and Jonathan Demme. Kuras’s latest project is the biographical period drama Lee about photographer Elizabeth “Lee” Miller—a fashion model from Poughkeepsie who became a war correspondent for Vogue during World War II. The film stars Kate Winslet and will have just celebrated its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, September 7–17, 2023.

This event will be moderated by Mia Mask, Professor of Film on the Mary Riepma Ross Chair, and is open to the public.