There is a long history of Black actors and faces being over or underexposed on screen, a combination of how cameras and celluloid have been geared toward whiteness over Black skin. But “The Woman King” as a historical epic with a largely Black and female cast is a movie that challenges many norms, and it was important to cinematographer Polly Morgan that this film truly highlight “the beauty of Black skin.”
Morgan, who recently has served as the director of photography on both “Where the Crawdads Sing” and “A Quiet Place Part 2,” among others, told TheWrap that she and “The Woman King” director Gina Prince-Bythewood wanted to keep a couple of things top of mind.