Variety Celebrates 10 Artisans to Watch 2025

Cinematographer ‘Sinners’

While writing a paper on “Broadway Danny Rose” and “Raging Bull,” Durald Arkapaw found herself falling in love with the pros- pect of being a director of photography. After previously working with director Ryan Coogler on “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” the pair began to collaborate for Coogler’s fifth feature, “Sinners.” “We support each other,” says Durald Arkapaw. “I’ve learned how to read the story through [Ryan’s] eyes, to understand what he needs to tell it and what is important to him.”

As the first woman to shoot on 65mm, Durald Arkapaw is grateful for the opportunity to continue opening doors for more representation in cinematography and to be an inspiration for female cinematographers. “It means the world when young girls, or film students of similar heritage, come up to me and express their gratitude, not just for the work, but for the fact that they can see someone like themselves behind the camera.” — Leia Mendoza

Assistant art director ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’

Shooting “Avatar: The Way of Water” and its sequel, “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” posed its own set of challenges for SCAD alum Berg, who worked as assistant art director on both films. “It kept us thinking bigger picture in terms of the larger story we were telling.”

Berg was most excited to work with Leg- acy Effects, developing the puppets and creatures for live action and exploring movement mechanics and materials.

On James Cameron, Berg says, “He approaches everything he does with a fierce curiosity. Every plant, creature, character, vehicle and prop you see on screen has been intensely discussed and dissected. There is a reason and a backstory behind every visual detail and hav- ing that mentality in the art department (and across all departments) produces a world that feels truly authentic and tangi- ble, which can be hard in sci-fi and fantasy projects.” —Jazz Tangcay

Songwriter
‘Golden’ from ‘KPOP Demon Hunters’

Singer-songwriter EJAE spent five years as the singing voice of Rumi in Netflix’s “KPOP Demon Hunters,” and co-wrote monster breakout hit “Golden,” performed by the show’s fictional girl group, Huntr/x.

The soundtrack spawned four Top 10 hit singles, opening the door for new generations to discover the world of K-pop.

“One of the biggest assets I brought to the movie, or when writing the songs, was being bilingual,” she says. “I see myself as a songwriter. For me, I never had the goal to be a pop star. I’m more melodically driven [in writing], and I love to look at the works of songwriters that inspire me and attempt to weave that into my work.”

EJAE hopes to continue her lyrical work in film. “I would love to one day work on a project like ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ or do the soundtrack for a James Bond film.” — Leia Mendoza

Editor
‘One Battle After Another’

Jurgensen first worked with director Paul Thomas Anderson as an assistant editor on 2014’s “Inherent Vice.” After editing some of the director’s music videos, he finally served as lead editor on 2021’s “Licorice Pizza.” An epic action thriller with heavy doses of satire, “One Battle After Another” is new, ambitious territory for Anderson, as well as Jurgensen.

“It was daunting to think about,” Jurgensen reflects. “It’s obviously a higher-budget movie, an action movie, and a much bigger movie than I’ve done and that he’s done. It was a challenge, but it worked out.”
Jurgensen was frequently present for dailies throughout the shoot and, with minimal storyboarding and no previz, he and Anderson pieced together the action film old-school style. — Andrew McGowan

Production designer  
‘F1’

Munro’s approach to the drama, set against the backdrop of F1 races from Silverstone in England to Las Vegas, was to create stylish authenticity. The Joseph Kosinski-directed film stars Brad Pitt as former Formula 1 driver Sonny Hayes, who returns to the sport and partners with rookie teammate Joshua Pearce (Dam- son Idris). Munro says, “We aimed to blend high-end aesthetics with the gritty realism that defines F1, ensuring the world we built felt both aspirational and believable.”

With access to the F1 world of race tracks and drivers (former Mercedes and now Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton is a producer), Munro says his biggest challenge was earning the trust of the F1 community. “We had to convince both the F1 organization and fanbase that our presence wouldn’t disrupt the races—and that our sets and cars could withstand close scrutiny on and off the track. ” he says.

Regarding working with Kosinski, Munro says, “No matter how ambitious the challenge, I learned that with perseverance and clarity of purpose, anything can be achieved.” — JT

Hair and makeup artist, prosthetics designer
‘The Testament of Ann Lee’

Pasicov’s fascination with film and make- up began at home with her father’s robust cinematic collection. “My father was a cinephile and film collector,” she says. “Because of him, I grew up with access to movies that were far beyond my age group. It gave me an unusually early exposure to cinema as an art form.”

She credits Robert Zemeckis’ “Death Becomes Her” as the pivotal film that solidified her interest in mastering makeup and prosthetics, as it used those skills to “visually dismantles classic beauty tropes.”

“I knew from a very early age that I wanted to be in the industry, but it was that combination of storytelling and craft, intellect and hands-on artistry that ultimately drew me to makeup as my medium in film and television,” she says.

For “Roofman,” she drew inspiration from her experiences growing up in the 1990s and 2000s to bring the characters to life and add to the authenticity of the narrative.

She notes that contributing to Mona Fastvold’s musical film “The Testament of Ann Lee” is one of her proudest moments in her career so far. Pasicov had been striving to take on the entire visual design of a production, and “Lee” provided her the opportunity to do so. She crafted elaborate wigs for different characters, created subtle aging prosthetics and expanded her technical mastery of special effects makeup. — Giana Levy

Composer
‘Rental Family’

In Hikari’s “Rental Family,” the sense of alienation and severe loneliness while watching Phillip (Brendan Fraser) is compounded by Somers’ score.

Instruments such as the Optigan – a scratchy-sounding early ‘70s electronic keyboard manufactured by Mattel that used optically recorded samples – provided the sonic foundation of the character’s journey. “Hikari encouraged us to explore all of our musical and sonic instincts we had right from the beginning,” Somers says. “We were moved to create music that spoke to the universal idea of help. The idea of needing help, asking for help, and receiving help.”

Somers notes that his influences include “rain on the roof sounds, and when there is a note/chord change in a piece of music and it’s exactly the right one.” — JT

Costume designer  
‘Hamnet’

“The first image in my head was a giant beating heart muscle, throbbing and pulsing with blood,” says Turzanska.

Chloe Zhao’s “Hamnet” is a story of love and loss, all of which inspired William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” In designing the costumes, Turzanska says she was drawn to the art of Magdalena Abakanowicz and Mrinalini Mukherjee, who both sculpt with organic, fibrous textures. The palette of Agnes (Jessie Buckley) is rooted in nature: reds, oranges and rusts.

In contrast, William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) has Tudor details in his clothing. The pinking and slashing of textiles were used as an emotional tool to express his state of mind. “At the end, he’s covered in dried clay, which then cracks and disintegrates, revealing him to be raw and open.” —JT

Casting director
‘The Smashing Machine’

Venditti is on triple duty this awards season. She cast A24’s “The Smashing Machine,” as well as Focus Features’ “Bugonia” and A24’s upcoming “Marty Supreme.”

“The Smashing Machine,” directed by Benny Safdie, stars Dwayne Johnson in the story of mixed martial arts champion fighter Mark Kerr. “It was very important to Benny for the film to have an authentic quality that honors Mark’s life and especially the world of MMA,” she says.

So she found great fighters as well as other characters from that world, but because it would also help Johnson and co-star Emily Blunt to fully experience the MMA world as true to nature as possible. “We were able to find Ryan Bader, a real heavyweight MMA champion” to play the role of Kerr’s best friend Mark Coleman, “and his acting brought a raw authenticity to the role.”

For the role of Don in “Bugonia,” Venditti connected with organizations that support neurodivergent artists who have a passion for the performing arts. “We looked at many people, but it became clear that Aidan [Delbis] was the standout. In addition to Aidan’s talent and captivating presence, he had wonderful chemistry with [the film’s stars] Jesse Plemons and Emma Stone.” — JT

Hair and makeup department head
‘Bugonia’

Witte always aspired to become a professional hair and makeup artist. His determination to make his childhood dreams a reality propelled him to leave Germany for Paris when he was 21, launching his career in the fashion industry by assisting on photo shoots and fashion shows. Moving from Paris to New York City and ultimately Los Angeles, he landed on his first movie, “Little Miss Sunshine,” as the makeup department head.

In his latest project, Witte is the mastermind behind his long-time friend and frequent collaborator Emma Stone’s shaved head in “Bugonia.” He credits the film’s director, Yorgos Lanthimos, for his vision and collaborative efforts that helped him bring these characters to life on a project that he’s extremely proud of. “I have created some amazing characters, and I’m really proud of this [film] because it is the most important one for our planet and for where we are right now,” he says. “There’s no way that we knew when we were shooting this how much more rel- evant this project will become when it comes out.” — Giana Levy