Cinematographer Rachel Morrison on her historic Oscar nomination: ‘There’s no time like the present’

Heading to the Sundance Film Festival, cinematographer Rachel Morrison took a moment to savor and consider her historic Oscar nomination for her work on Netflix’s “Mudbound.”

“Literally, it’s a dream come true,” she said of the nod that made her the first woman ever nominated in the cinematography category. “I really hope that it opens the door for more women to believe that they can do it and follow their dreams and become cinematographers. I think that once you see 50% of us [in the industry], you’ll see a lot more nominations this time of year.”

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WINNER: Gary Oldman -- performance by an actor in a leading role; makeup and hairstyling | NOMINATED: Cinematography; costume design; best picture; and production design.

  (Jack English / Focus Features via AP)

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WINNER: Costume design | NOMINATED: Daniel Day-Lewis -- performance by an actor in a leading role; Lesley Manville -- performance by an actress in a supporting role; directing; original score; and best picture.

  (Laurie Sparham / Focus Features via AP)

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Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” The film got four Oscar nominations: original score, sound editing, sound mixing and visual effects.

  (John Wilson / Lucasfilm via AP)

Working closely with director and co-writer Dee Rees, Morrison said she was “trying to contrast scope and intimacy and the American dream versus the American reality and to look at how that affected people in terms of gender and race. I think she was really interested in exploring race as currency and gender as currency. Obviously, these are all issues where not very much has changed in 70 years. So, I think it’s an incredibly timely film too.”

And for the next generation of female cinematographers and filmmakers, she offered this advice:

“First of all, there is no time like the present and I can feel the change. It’s palpable. But I think it’s the best job on set so they should go for it. Just be persistent and patient and know that nothing happens overnight but if you enjoy the process and enjoy the journey, you’ll get to your destination.”

See the complete list of 2018 Oscar nominees »

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Women had never been nominated for a cinematography Oscar before ‘Mudbound’s’ Rachel Morrison. A pre-nominations look at women working behind the camera