---
name: "Gabriel Beristain"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/gabriel-beristain"
fi1m_id: "gabriel-beristain"
imdb_id: "nm0075244"
tmdb_id: 10832
wikidata_id: "Q3756460"
roles: ["Cinematographer","Director"]
born: "9 May 1955"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 6
average_fi1m_score: 72
average_over: 5
updated: "2026-09-26T01:17:08.733932+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Gabriel Beristain

## Identity

Gabriel Beristain

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/gabriel-beristain
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** gabriel-beristain
- **IMDb ID:** nm0075244
- **TMDB ID:** 10832
- **Wikidata ID:** Q3756460
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_Beristain, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3756460, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0075244/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/10832

Cinematographer and director. Born 9 May 1955 in Mexico City, Mexico.

## Details

- **Work:** Cinematographer, Director
- **Born:** 9 May 1955, Mexico City, Mexico
- **Active:** 1986–present
- **Also known as:** Luis Gabriel Beristáin
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 6: 1 directing, 5 crew
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 79 (1), 2000s 80 (1), 2010s 72 (2), 2020s 62 (2)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 71 to 67 across 4 titles
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Action 4, Adventure 4, Science Fiction 3, Crime 1, Drama 1, History 1
- **Screen time:** 10 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $2,646m across 4 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_Beristain, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3756460, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0075244/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/10832

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Caravaggio*](https://film.one/film/caravaggio.md) (79)
- **Apple TV:** [*Hawaii Five-0*](https://film.one/tv/hawaii-five-0.md) (65)
- **Disney+:** [*Black Widow*](https://film.one/film/black-widow.md) (63)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Gabriel Beristain

> Gabriel Beristain gives action a readable setting and knows when to move close enough to see the effort. We value that practical judgement, though his tidy finish can leave a place without much character.

In *The Beekeeper* (2024), the call centre glows pink and purple while young people in headsets cheer the money coming in. Gabriel Beristain lights Ben Munro’s set like a nightclub, making the fraud look like a staff celebration. It is a pointed choice for David Ayer’s otherwise blunt revenge thriller. We like the precision, even in a film whose repeated explanations of its own metaphor wear us down.

His first feature as cinematographer was *Carne de tu carne* (1983), a Colombian horror film; *Caravaggio* (1986) followed. *Blade II* (2002), with director Guillermo del Toro, brought him into larger-scale studio horror and action. Years of additional photography for Marvel films followed, beginning with *Iron Man* (2008). *Black Widow* (2021) was his first full feature as cinematographer for that franchise.

In Cate Shortland’s *Black Widow*, he is most effective in the Budapest flat, where the sisters fight among curtains, a sink and a hob. He shoots hand-held and close enough for their tiredness to register; Charles Wood’s domestic setting gives the action something solid to push against. We were caught off guard and moved when Yelena said their childhood had been real to her, because Florence Pugh made it sound like an accusation rather than a plea. Beristain’s closeness allows the physical effort to matter before the conversation does. Elsewhere, the grey Norwegian light and orange suburban prologue are competent rather than distinctive.

The limits are clearer in *Hawaii Five-0* (2010), where Beristain shares cinematography duties with Michael Martinez. Their bright finish makes the scenery inviting and the action easy to read. Production designers Gary Frutkoff and Keith Neely help supply that clean look, but little of it suggests a community beyond the needs of the police story. The bikini shots make the setting feel advertised, which is a modest ambition for so much scenery.

For a useful introduction, try *Black Widow* for the Budapest flat and the family scenes. Be prepared for a final half-hour dominated by digital debris. The people were doing perfectly well without it.

## Biography

Gabriel Beristain is a Mexican cinematographer. Born in Mexico City in 1955, he is the son of actor Luis Beristain. He studied at the Instituto Politécnico Nacional and the National Film and Television School in the United Kingdom.

His first feature as cinematographer was the 1983 Colombian film *Carne de tu carne* (Bloody Flesh), for which he received the Best Cinematography Award at the Bogotá Film Festival. Subsequent credits include Derek Jarman's *Caravaggio* (1986), Taylor Hackford's *Blood In Blood Out* (1993) and *Dolores Claiborne* (1995), and David Ayer's *The Beekeeper* (2024). He has worked extensively with Marvel Studios on films including *Blade II* (2002), the *Iron Man* trilogy and *Black Widow* (2021), as well as television series such as *Agent Carter* and *Hawkeye*.

Beristain is a member of the American Society of Cinematographers, the British Society of Cinematographers and the Mexican Society of Cinematographers. He is also a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (6)

### Directed (1)

- *Hawaii Five-0* (2010), Fi1m 65, Cinematography, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/hawaii-five-0.md)

### Crew (5) — the average rests on these

- *The Beekeeper* (2024), Fi1m 60, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/the-beekeeper.md)
- *Black Widow* (2021), Fi1m 63, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/black-widow.md)
- *The Avengers* (2012), Fi1m 80, Additional Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/the-avengers.md)
- *Iron Man* (2008), Fi1m 80, Additional Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/iron-man.md)
- *Caravaggio* (1986), Fi1m 79, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/caravaggio.md)

## Complete filmography (57)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Gentleman* (2025), Director
- *Washington Black* (2025), series, Director of Photography
- *Harold and the Purple Crayon* (2024), Director of Photography
- *The Beekeeper* (2024), Director of Photography — Fi1m 60, [page](https://film.one/film/the-beekeeper.md)
- *Monarch* (2022), series, Director of Photography
- *Solo Respira* (2022), Co-Producer
- *Hawkeye* (2021), series, Additional Director of Photography
- *Black Widow* (2021), Director of Photography — Fi1m 63, [page](https://film.one/film/black-widow.md)
- *Havana Kyrie* (2019), Producer
- *MacGyver* (2016), series, Director
- *Marvel's Agent Carter* (2015), series, Director of Photography
- *The Strain* (2014), series, Director of Photography
- *Sabotage* (2014), Additional Photography
- *Marvel One-Shot: Agent Carter* (2013), Director of Photography
- *Marvel One-Shot: Item 47* (2012), Director of Photography
- *The Avengers* (2012), Additional Photography — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/the-avengers.md)
- *Magic City* (2012), series, Director of Photography
- *There Be Dragons* (2011), Director of Photography
- *Hawaii Five-0* (2010), series, Director of Photography, Director — Fi1m 65, [page](https://film.one/tv/hawaii-five-0.md)
- *Princess Kaiulani* (2010), Director of Photography
- *And Soon the Darkness* (2010), Director of Photography
- *Iron Man* (2008), Additional Photography — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/iron-man.md)
- *Street Kings* (2008), Director of Photography
- *The Invisible* (2007), Director of Photography
- *The Sentinel* (2006), Director of Photography
- *The Shaggy Dog* (2006), Director of Photography
- *The Ring Two* (2005), Director of Photography, Cinematography
- *Blade: Trinity* (2004), Director of Photography
- *S.W.A.T.* (2003), Director of Photography
- *Blade II* (2002), Director of Photography
- *El Grito* (2002), Director
- *Molly* (1999), Director of Photography
- *Jerry Seinfeld: I'm Telling You for the Last Time* (1998), Director of Photography
- *Russell Mulcahy’s Tale of the Mummy* (1998), Director of Photography
- *The Spanish Prisoner* (1997), Director of Photography
- *Trial and Error* (1997), Director of Photography
- *The Ghost and the Darkness* (1996), Second Unit Director of Photography
- *Dolores Claiborne* (1995), Director of Photography
- *Greedy* (1994), Director of Photography
- *Fatal Instinct* (1993), Director of Photography
- *Bound by Honor* (1993), Director of Photography
- *The Distinguished Gentleman* (1992), Director of Photography
- *K2* (1991), Director of Photography
- *Waiting for the Light* (1990), Director of Photography
- *Killing Dad (Or How to Love Your Mother)* (1989), Director of Photography
- *Venus Peter* (1989), Director of Photography
- *Joyriders* (1988), Director of Photography
- *Troubles* (1988), series, Director of Photography
- *The Courier* (1988), Director of Photography
- *Aria* (1987), Director of Photography
- *Caravaggio* (1986), Director of Photography — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/film/caravaggio.md)
- *Oraingoz izen gabe* (1986), Director of Photography
- *Christmas Present* (1985), Director of Photography
- *Bloody Flesh* (1983), Director of Photography
- *Mia: See Clearly*, Director, Writer
- *Godshot*, Director
- *Live 2 Die*, Director of Photography

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/gabriel-beristain