The Academy Award for Best Cinematography, honoring a cinematographer's work on a single motion picture, has evolved significantly since its inception in 1927–28, with the modern system of individual nominations for a specific film adopted in 1931. Historically, it saw a unique write-in win by Hal Mohr in 1935 and separate categories for black-and-white and color cinematography from 1939 to 1966, with recent black-and-white winners including Schindler's List (1993) and Roma (2018). The award also recognized the shift to digital, with Slumdog Millionaire (2009) being the first digital video winner, and director David Lean holds the record for the most films to win, with five.
Recent years have marked significant diversity milestones, as Bradford Young became the first African-American nominee in 2017 for Arrival, and Rachel Morrison the first woman nominee in 2018. In 2019, Alfonso Cuarón made history as the first person to win for a film he also directed (Roma), passionately affirming cinematography's critical role by stating, "No single film has ever existed without cinematography."