Bradford Young is a cinematographer who studied under the tutelage of filmmaker Haile Gerima. As a cinematographer, Young is most concerned with finding the sublime in the ordinary. His work's ambition is to explore and celebrate small local things, photographically.
His film contributions include Selma, for which he was nominated for Best Cinematography at the 2015 Independent Spirit Awards, Ain't Them Bodies Saints and Mother of George, both of which he was awarded the 2013 Sundance US Dramatic Competition Excellence in Cinematography award for. Other films include Dee Rees' Pariah, for which he won the 2011 Sundance US Dramatic Competition of Excellence in Cinematography Award, Ava DuVernay's Middle of Nowhere, Tina Mabry's Mississippi Damned, Paola Mendoza's Entre Nos and Andrew Dosunmu's Restless City.
In 2014, Young also shot Edward Zwick's Pawn Sacrifice and J.C. Chandor's A Most Violent Year. He also completed Beat-up Little Seagull helmed by Andrew Dosunmu and starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Kiefer Sutherland.
In 2009, Filmmaker Magazine selected Young for its annual survey "25 New Faces of Independent Film." And in 2010, Variety Magazine selected the talented cinematographer in their "Up Next – 25 Masters of Their Craft" profile of filmmakers moving up the ladder of success.
In 2014, Young created a three-channel video installation titled Bynum Cutler. Inspired by late playwright August Wilson, the film featured black monuments set against the backdrop of Weeksville's historic Bethel Tabernacle African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Crown Heights Brooklyn in a tribute to the pioneering Black women, men and children who embarked on countless journeys in search of refuge.
Young is a 2014 inductee into the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
Paramount Pictures
