LOS ANGELES — Stephen Lighthill has been elected to serve as president of the American Society of Cinematographers (www.theasc.com). The vote was made by the newly elected Board Of Governors who also elected ASC officers, vice presidents Richard Crudo, Daryn Okada and Kees Van Oostrum; treasurer Victor J. Kemper; secretary Fred Goodich; and sergeant-at-arms Steven Fierberg.
Lighthill takes over for outgoing ASC president Michael Goi, who served a maximum three consecutive terms. This will be Lighthill’s first turn as ASC president. He has previously served on the organization’s board and as sergeant-at-arms.
Other ASC members elected to the Board of Governors include John Bailey, Stephen H. Burum, Curtis Clark, Dean Cundey, Fred Elmes, Michael Goi, Francis Kenny, Matthew Leonetti, Michael O’Shea, Robert Primes, and Owen Roizman. Alternate Board members include Ron Garcia, Karl Walter Lindenlaub, Julio Macat and Kenneth Zunder.
The ASC’s mission is to inspire the next generation of cinematographers and advance the art of filmmaking through industry events and initiatives. Lighthill is currently the chair of the cinematography program at American Film Institute Conservatory. He began his career shooting for San Francisco Bay area news programs, as well as national news shows such as 60 Minutes. He segued into documentary cinematography, working on many films including Gimme Shelter and Berkeley in the Sixties, which was nominated for an Academy Award and won the Audience Award at Sundance. Lighthill’s narrative credits include such television dramas as Vietnam War Story, Earth 2, Nash Bridges, and She Spies. His commitment to sharing his experience and knowledge led him to become an AFI instructor, and he now serves as senior filmmaker-in-residence: cinematography.
Lighthill has long served as an officer on the National Executive Board of the International Cinematographers Guild (ICG). In 2000, he was presented with the Society of Operating Cameramen’s (SOC) President’s Award, recognizing his career achievements. In 2010, SMPTE recognized Lighthill with the Kodak Educational Award for outstanding educational contributions to the motion picture industry.