“I believe the job of the cinematographer is to visualize emotion.”

Rachel Morrison is making Oscars history by being the first woman and lesbian to be nominated for Best Cinematography. The Oscars have been around for 90 years, and this is the first time a woman is up for the honor. She is nominated for her work on the Netflix drama “Mudbound.”

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“Women are so qualified they should just go for it. It’s not just about cinematography, it about believing in yourself and that anything’s possible,” Morrison told The Hollywood Reporter. “I believe the job of the cinematographer is to visualize emotion — things we as women are inherently good at.”

Rachel Morrison has been in the film industry for 15 years: She is best known for her work on the films films Cake, Fruitvale Station, and Sound of My Voice. Earlier this month, she became the first woman to collect at American Society of Cinematographers Award in its feature competition. Mudbound, directed by Dee Rees, is about the racial tensions in Mississippi post World War II. Dante A. Ciampaglia of Newsweek writes, “her cinematography recalls the Depression-era images of Dorothea Lange, the humanism of Gregg Toland’s camerawork on The Grapes of Wrath and the rural lyricism captured by Néstor Almendros for Days of Heaven.”

It is especially heartening for our community to see an out lesbian making such historical and creative strides. Rachel Morrison is married to a woman and they have a beautiful family together. Rachel’s Instagram is full of snapshots of their adorable son.

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Congratulations, Rachel Morrison! Your talent inspires us.

Mudbound can be watched on Netflix.