Alumnus of Columbia's Cinematography program Janusz Kaminski ‘87 and Honorary Degree Recipient Diane Warren HDR ‘16 have been recognized with Oscar nominations.

Columbia College Chicago is pleased to announce one Cinematography alum and one Honorary Degree Recipient have been honored at the 2022 Oscars.

In the category of Best Cinematography, Janusz Kaminski ‘87 is nominated for his work on “West Side Story.” Kaminski, who has been Steven Spielberg’s go-to cinematographer for more than 25 years, previously received Academy Awards for Best Cinematography for Schindler's List (1993) and Saving Private Ryan (1998) and was nominated for Academy Awards for Amistad (1997), War Horse (2011), and Lincoln (2012).

In the category of Best Original Song, Diane Warren HDR ‘16 is nominated for her music and lyrics in the song “Somehow You Do” from “Four Good Days.”  This is Warren’s 13th nomination in the category, previously for her work in movies such as Armageddon, Music of the Heart, Pearl Harbor, Marshall, and most recently, 2021’s The Life Ahead.

The score for “Encanto”, composed by Music Composition for the Screen MFA Program Advisory Council member, and long-time friend of the program, Germaine Franco, was nominated for Best Score.

We are especially thrilled that two of her team members are Music MFA alumni:

• James Carroll (MFA ’16) is credited for Score Midi Orchestration And Arranging, and
• Catherine Nguyen (MFA ’20) is credited as Score Production Assistant.

Congratulations to all of our nominees! The 94th Academy Awards will air on Sunday, March 27 at 7 p.m. on ABC.

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