ERIK MESSERSCHMIDT
Award-winning director of photography Erik Messerschmidt, ASC has a natural eye for arresting and spellbinding images, thriving in a role that allows him to combine his love of art, craft and science. He recently wrapped the Apple TV+ pilot Sinking Spring for director Ridley Scott.
Messerschmidt’s two latest feature films had their world premiere at the 2023 Venice Film Festival: David Fincher’s The Killer, starring Michael Fassbender and Tilda Swinton, and Michael Mann’s Ferrari, starring Adam Driver, Penélope Cruz, and Shailene Woodley. Ferrari is also the closing night selection at the 2023 New York Film Festival.
Previously. he shot Fincher’s Mank, chronicling the screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz’s turbulent journey to write Citizen Kane alongside Orson Welles. Messerschmidt’s meticulous and striking black-and-white recreation of the period’s aesthetic earned him the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, an ASC Award for Outstanding Cinematography in a Feature Film, a BSC Award for Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature Release, a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Cinematography, as well as Best Cinematography award nominations from the San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle, the Broadcast Film Critics Association Critics Choice, and the Alliance of Women Film Journalists.
Messerschmidt also lensed Devotion for director J.D. Dillard, based on the real-life story of a Black naval officer who befriends a white naval officer during the Korean War, both becoming heroes for their selfless acts of bravery. Prior, he lensed several episodes of the HBO Max original series Raised by Wolves from producer Ridley Scott. Messerschmidt also shot the first and second seasons of Fincher’s hit thriller series Mindhunter for Netflix, earning a 2020 Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (one-hour) for episode 206.
Messerschmidt now splits his time between Los Angeles and San Sebastian, Spain. He works internationally and is a member of IATSE Local 600. He is represented by DDA.