Darren Lew
Darren Lew
Cinematographer
Darren Lew’s cinematography has won the AICP Show award and a Cannes Gold Lion, among other awards.
After studying philosophy at New York University, Darren began his career working as an assistant to photographers Annie Leibovitz and Steven Meisel. He bought a Bolex on a trip to Paris, started filming the fashion world, and soon landed his first commercial job, a campaign for Clinique.
Darren primarily works in commercials. Notable ads include Hellmann’s Mayo Cat with Kate McKinnon (Super Bowl XVIII), FTX ‘s Don’t Be Like Larry with Larry David (Super Bowl LVI), Tiffany and Co. featuring Lady Gaga (Super Bowl LI), Apple AirPods Spatial Audio with Harry Styles, Lincoln featuring Matthew McConaughey, and Levi’s Go Forth America.
His music video credits include David Bowie’s Blackstar, Beyoncé’s Pretty Hurts (MTV Award for Cinematography), and Miley Cyrus’ Malibu. Together, these three videos have over one billion views on YouTube.
Recent documentary work includes Alex Gibney’s film about Boris Becker, and Nanette Burstein’s exploration of Elizabeth Taylor’s legacy.
His PSA series for The Meth Project, directed by Darren Aronofsky, was on the AICP Show shortlist.
Alex Prager’s art film Run, and Past Forward, a short film directed by David O. Russell that was commissioned by Prada, have been exhibited in galleries around the world.
A highlight of Darren’s television projects has been the Cary Fukunaga-directed Netflix series Maniac, with Emma Stone and Jonah Hill.
In feature films, Darren was the second unit director of photography for Martin
Scorsese’s The Irishman and Killers of the Flower Moon. Darren filmed the prologue of Killers on Scorsese’s own 35mm hand-cranked Bell & Howell camera.
A native of Los Angeles, Darren lives in Brooklyn, NY, where he and his wife raised their three children. He spends his free time riding and restoring his vintage BMW motorcycles.