| Birth name | Sean Francis Bobbitt |
|---|---|
| Birth date | November 29, 1958 (age 67) |
| Birth place | Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S. |
| Years active | 1988–present |
Sean Francis Bobbitt, B.S.C. (born 29 November 1958) is a British cinematographer, known for his collaborations with directors Steve McQueen and Nia DaCosta.
He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work on Judas and the Black Messiah (2021). For Sense & Sensibility (2008), he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.
Early life
Bobbitt was born in Corpus Christi, Texas on 29 November 1958.
After his family moved to the UK, he went to school at St George's College, Weybridge.
Career
Bobbitt started his career as a news and documentary cameraman, a role which took him to the most conflicted spots of the globe.
In 2008, Bobbitt worked with artist-turned-director Steve McQueen on British film Hunger, a hard-hitting film about the Northern Irish hunger striker, Bobby Sands. With this film Bobbitt, McQueen, editor Joe Walker and actor Michael Fassbender formed a collaborative award-winning team that have gone on to make a further two films, Shame and 12 Years a Slave. Bobbitt won a BIFA in 2008 for his work on Hunger. In 2012, Bobbitt won the Carlo Di Palma European Cinematographer of the Year Award at the European Film Awards for his work on Shame.
In 2011, Bobbitt worked on the pilot of HBO's acclaimed series Game of Thrones. The following year, Bobbitt completed filming on The Place Beyond the Pines, a Neil Jordan called Byzantium, and he concluded five years of working on Michael Winterbottom drama-film Everyday.
The end of 2013 saw the release of 12 Years a Slave, for which he received multiple cinematography award nominations. In 2018, he collaborated with McQueen again on heist movie Widows.
In 2019, he shot Judas and the Black Messiah for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography. The film was released on HBO Max in 2021, having been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bobbitt began a collaboration with Nia DaCosta, filming The Marvels in 2021, and in 2024, he completed filming on both Hedda and 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, both directed by DiCosta.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Wonderland | Michael Winterbottom | |
| 2001 | Lawless Heart | Tom Hunsinger Neil Hunter | |
| 2002 | Summer Things | Michel Blanc | |
| 2006 | Cargo | Clive Gordon | |
| The Situation | Philip Haas | ||
| 2007 | The Baker | Gareth Lewis | |
| Mrs Ratcliffe's Revolution | Bille Eltringham | ||
| 2008 | Hunger | Steve McQueen | |
| 2010 | Africa United | Debs Gardner-Paterson | |
| 2011 | Shame | Steve McQueen | |
| Hysteria | Tanya Wexler | ||
| 2012 | Everyday | Michael Winterbottom | With Annenarie Lean-Vercoe, James Clark, Simon Tindall and Marcel Zyskind |
| The Place Beyond the Pines | Derek Cianfrance | ||
| Byzantium | Neil Jordan | ||
| 2013 | 12 Years a Slave | Steve McQueen | |
| Oldboy | Spike Lee | ||
| 2014 | Kill the Messenger | Michael Cuesta | |
| 2015 | Rock the Kasbah | Barry Levinson | |
| 2016 | Queen of Katwe | Mira Nair | |
| 2017 | On Chesil Beach | Dominic Cooke | |
| Stronger | David Gordon Green | ||
| 2018 | Widows | Steve McQueen | |
| 2020 | The Courier | Dominic Cooke | |
| The Rhythm Section | Reed Morano | ||
| 2021 | Judas and the Black Messiah | Shaka King | |
| 2023 | The Marvels | Nia DaCosta | |
| 2025 | Hedda | ||
| 2026 | 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple |
Documentary film
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Trashed | Candida Brady |
Television
Miniseries
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Watergate | Mick Gold | Documentary series |
| 1998 | Ancient Inventions | Daniel Percival Phil Grabsky | |
| 2003 | Canterbury Tales | Marc Munden Julian Jarrold | Episodes "The Knight's Tale" and "The Man of Law's Tale" |
| 2004 | The Long Firm | Bille Eltringham | |
| 2008 | Sense and Sensibility | John Alexander | |
| 2009 | Unforgiven | David Evans | |
| 2016 | Codes of Conduct | Steve McQueen |
TV movies
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby | Stephen Whittaker |
| Sweet Revenge | David Morrissey | |
| 2002 | Jeffrey Archer: The Truth | Guy Jenkin |
| 2003 | Second Generation | Jon Sen |
TV series
| Year | Title | Director | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Spooks | Rob Bailey | Episodes "One Last Dance" and "Traitor's Gate" |
Awards and nominations
External links
- Sean Bobbitt at IMDb
- Interview with Bright Lights Film Journal