11 Cinematographers Who Became Great Directors

3) Rodrigo Prieto

For some reason, the distinction between cameramen and directors is noticeably more fluid among Mexico’s most famous filmmakers, or so it would seem in consideration of the collaborators of the so-called Three Amigos of Cinema: Alfonso Cuarón, Guillermo del Toro and Alejandro González Iñárritu.

Iñárritu’s loyal cinematographer, Rodrigo Prieto, also happens to be one of the most sought after DPs in movies today. Most recently he worked with Martin Scorsese on The Wolf of Wall Street, and is set to work with him again on his upcoming film Silence. Other notable credits include Argo, 25^th Hour, Frida, as well as a couple of Ang Lee films, including Brokeback Mountain, which earned Prieto an Academy Award nomination. He also shot Rodrigo García’s second feature film, Ten Tiny Love Stories.

He has not yet had the chance to direct a feature film, but he did direct a short starring Elle Fanning that played at the Tribeca Film Festival last year. Entitled Likeness, the film is a deeply affecting look at the nightmare of body image distortion. He has revealed in interviews that it came from very personal place, inspired by the struggles of his own daughter.

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