2026 Honorees Celebrated at 40th ASC Awards Brunch

The 40th annual ASC Awards Honoree Brunch, sponsored by Sony, was held on Saturday afternoon at the ASC Clubhouse in Hollywood, where — over mimosas, bacon and eggs — a selection of ASC Awards were presented ahead of the main ASC Awards ceremony.

Kodak was honored with the Curtis Clark ASC Technical Achievement Award. In her acceptance speech, vice president and head of motion picture Vanessa Bendetti lauded the dedication of Kodak’s Jim Fitzgerald and Jeffrey Hanson. “These are the gentlemen that are responsible for our award,” Bendetti said, gesturing to the pair on stage with her. “They are in Rochester every day, ensuring that we can continue to make film and offer the gold-standard image that you all rely on.”

Cynthia Pusheck, ASC accepted the Presidents Award and reflected on how the ASC shaped her career. “If I'm lucky today, it's because there are some really good role models at this organization,” she said. “You helped me learn how to be a good ASC member, and I'm very honored.”

Sony sponsored the event, and the company's west coast sales manager, Dan Perry, acknowledged a rough few years, but stressed that Sony’s outlook remains optimistic. He pointed to the honorees brunch itself as evidence.

“It’s this idea of ASC members, camera crew, rental houses and manufacturers all coming together to support the industry, to get us to where we are today,” he told the crowd. “And as we look forward, there's still a lot more momentum coming to 2026.”

The diverse mix of industry leaders that ASC Clubhouse events attract helps foster a warm, conversational environment that often leads directly to innovation. “There’s a strong atmosphere at the Clubhouse, and we can freely talk about the future of the product,” Sony head of the cinema camera division, Nobutatsu Takahashi told American Cinematographer. “We appreciate that cinematographers tell us the good and bad, so that we can polish our products and services systems,” he added. Arri Rental director of business development Andrea Leonard said to AC that “it's humbling to put our tools in cinematographers’ hands and then get to see the art that they create with it.”

Mia Cioffi Henry, one of AC's 2025 Rising Stars of Cinematography, noted that monitoring ASC Award nominee Autumn Durald Arkapaw, ASC (Sinners) throughout awards season has provided her with a major source of inspiration. “I've been looking up to her for the last few years, and it is extremely meaningful to see a woman of color shoot an amazing film that's so technically proficient, and to use the technology so creatively,” she told AC.

Additional honorees at the event were Robert Yeoman, ASC, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award; M. David Mullen, ASC, who received the Career Achievement in Television; Guillermo del Toro, who received the Board of Governors Award; and AC editor-in-chief Stephen Pizzello, who received the Award of Distinction.

Livestream the 40th ASC Awards tonight at 7 p.m. pst. by visiting our Awards page.

Photos by Danny Moloshok.