---
name: "James Friend"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/james-friend"
roles: ["Cinematographer"]
born: "1 May 1985"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 67
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-17T19:45:39.827506+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."
---

# James Friend

Cinematographer. Born 1 May 1985 in United Kingdom.

## Details

- **Work:** Cinematographer
- **Born:** 1 May 1985, United Kingdom
- **Active:** 2018–present
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won)
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 2010s 78 (1), 2020s 56 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Friend, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q113977805, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2168099/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1103587

## Coming up

- *The Great Beyond* (2027-09-29), Director of Photography
- *The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum* (2027-12-15), Director of Photography

## Biography

James Friend is a British cinematographer. He grew up in Maidstone, Kent, and studied cinematography at the London Film School. He began his career as a lighting technician and was mentored by Paul Wheeler and Phil Méheux.

Friend's television credits include *Patrick Melrose* (2018), for which he won a British Society of Cinematographers award, and *The War of the Worlds* (2019). His feature film work includes *All Quiet on the Western Front* (2022), directed by Edward Berger, for which he received the Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography. Other credits include *The Acolyte* (2024) and *Victoria* (2016). He is a member of the American Society of Cinematographers and the British Society of Cinematographers.

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

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Supergirl* (2026), Fi1m 56, Additional Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/supergirl.md)
- *Patrick Melrose* (2018), Fi1m 78, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/tv/patrick-melrose.md)

## Complete filmography (36)

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

- *The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum* (2027), Director of Photography
- *The Great Beyond* (2027), Director of Photography
- *Supergirl* (2026), Additional Director of Photography — Fi1m 56, [page](https://film.one/film/supergirl.md)
- *Ballad of a Small Player* (2025), Director of Photography
- *The Acolyte* (2024), series, Director of Photography
- *Heart of Stone* (2023), Additional Director of Photography
- *Luther: The Fallen Sun* (2023), Additional Director of Photography
- *All Quiet on the Western Front* (2022), Director of Photography
- *The War of the Worlds* (2019), series, Director of Photography
- *MotherFatherSon* (2019), series, Director of Photography
- *Patrick Melrose* (2018), series, Director of Photography — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/patrick-melrose.md)
- *Lady M* (2017), Director of Photography
- *Rillington Place* (2016), series, Director of Photography
- *Victoria* (2016), series, Director of Photography
- *Breakdown* (2016), Director of Photography, Camera Operator
- *The Guvnors* (2014), Director of Photography
- *Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist* (2014), series, Director of Photography
- *Lords of London* (2014), Director of Photography
- *Robbie Williams - One Night At the Palladium* (2013), Director of Photography
- *Little Favour* (2013), Director of Photography
- *Papadopoulos & Sons* (2012), Director of Photography
- *Truth or Dare* (2012), Director of Photography
- *Piggy* (2012), Director of Photography
- *A Vampire's Tale* (2011), Director of Photography
- *The Hike* (2011), Director of Photography
- *7lives* (2011), Director of Photography
- *Turnout* (2011), Director of Photography
- *Ghosted* (2011), Producer, Director of Photography
- *Stalker* (2010), Director of Photography, Camera Operator
- *Dead Cert* (2010), Director of Photography
- *Baseline* (2010), Second Unit Director of Photography
- *Carmen's Kiss* (2010), Director of Photography
- *Macbeth's Disciple* (2008), Camera Operator
- *Wishbaby* (2007), Camera Operator
- *The Man Who Sold The World* (2006), Director of Photography
- *Angels in the Asylum*, Associate Producer, Director of Photography

## Gallery

- ![James Friend](https://film.one/media/person/294199/gallery-48171b4590fe.jpg) James Friend — Ilya Hirschberg, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/25/James_Friend_30Jun2023_FilmFest_Munich_Germany.jpg/1280px-James_Friend_30Jun2023_FilmFest_Munich_Germany.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![James Friend](https://film.one/media/person/294199/gallery-8fa775e6d1ba.jpg) James Friend — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 1 won

- 2023: Best Cinematography (won), for *All Quiet on the Western Front*

### BAFTA Film Awards — 1 won

- 2023: Best Cinematography (won), for *All Quiet on the Western Front*

### Other awards — 1 won

- British Society of Cinematographers Award for Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature Film 2023: British Society of Cinematographers Award for Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature Film (won), for *All Quiet on the Western Front*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© 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/james-friend