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Stefan Duscio

Stefan Duscio

Cinematographer

The work of Australian cinematographer Stefan Duscio (b. 1981) is characterised by fluid camera movements and a masterful use of light. His authentic and innovative approach to cinematic naturalism has made him a highly regarded collaborator of directors Robert Connolly, Leigh Whannell, JD Dillard, and Mirrah Foulkes, with whom he has pushed the art of visual storytelling. This year, Duscio won the Gold Tripod for Best Cinematography in a feature film for The Dry and the prestigious Milli Award for the ACS Australian Cinematographer of the Year, the highest award an Australian cinematographer can receive. The journey to adapt Jane Harper’s international bestseller The Dry was led by prolific Australian producer Bruna Papandrea (best known for Big Little Lies) and director Robert Connolly. Duscio grew up in rural Australia and developed an early interest in photography and visual storytelling, studying Media Arts at RMIT University in Melbourne. A chance encounter with the late Oscar-winning cinematographer Andrew Lesnie in a cinema foyer landed him his first job in the camera department for the Lord of the Rings trilogy in New Zealand. Lesnie’s ability to use natural light to create both grandeur and intimacy for Peter Jackson’s vision made a lasting impact. His first jobs in the Australian film industry as a camera assistant saw him working with young directors and cinematographers, including Greig Fraser, Germain McMicking, and peers Ari Wegner and Adam Arkapaw. In the narrative realm, Duscio had the opportunity to connect with young filmmaker Aaron Wilson to shoot the wartime drama Canopy in Singapore. He followed this with Galore, the debut feature film by Rhys Graham, which earned him his first Gold Award at the ACS Awards for Best Cinematography. This started him on a string of films with Angus Sampson’s The Mule, which premiered at South by Southwest in Austin in 2014, followed by Backtrack alongside director Michael Petroni, starring Adrian Brody, Greg McLean’s Jungle, and Leigh Whannell’s cult hit Upgrade. From there, he returned to independent work with Mirrah Foulkes’ Judy and Punch, nominated for a Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival (2019), and then launched into Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man (2020), a science fiction thriller based on a novel by HG Wells starring Elizabeth Moss, for which he won the Australian Academy of Cinematography Award. The Invisible Man was the number one film at the worldwide box office in 2022 for two weeks. Despite the pandemic challenges imposed on the film industry, he displayed organisational aplomb, directing the photography for the new highly anticipated Apple TV+ series Shantaram. Produced by Paramount and Anonymous, run by executive producer Steve Lightfoot and director Bharat Nalluri, Duscio rose to the challenge of marshalling multiple large-scale units across Melbourne, Bangkok, and Mumbai in 2021-2022. The 12-episode adaptation of Gregory David Roberts’ novel Shantaram is due to be released on October 14. Duscio has shot hundreds of commercials and music videos, including two music videos for Beyoncé’s self-titled visual album, Mine and Ghost. Information above via their homepage.

Read more

Biography from TMDB.

Works as
Cinematographer
Titles
16 on MovieCove · 29 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 157 days to Oct 28Up 66% in 30 days

What are Stefan Duscio's films like?

Across their 15 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Self.

Genres

Drama5 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 46th percentile
: browse their Drama movies
Adventure4 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 53rd percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Adventure movies
Comedy2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 48th percentile
: browse their Comedy movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Survival
38%
Self
24%
Morality
16%
Bonds
13%
Ideas
4%
Power
3%
Society
2%
Survival5 titles, browse their movies with this themeTrauma6 titles, browse their movies with this themeMemory3 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice3 titles, browse their movies with this themeBetrayal3 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love2 titles, browse their movies with this themeObsession2 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity3 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 15 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Dark: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their dark movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 2 · Serious 1 · Dark 12

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 9 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 2

Intense: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their intense movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 1 · Charged 3 · Intense 11

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 6 · Shifting 7 · Whiplash 2

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 13 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 0

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 6 · Even-paced 8 · Relentless 1

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 2 · Engaged 9 · Full focus 4

Heavy: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their heavy movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

Easy watch 2 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 10

Open-ended: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their open-ended movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

A split, not a type: Resolved 8 · Open-ended 5 · Ambiguous 2

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
13
Melancholic
7
Dread
6
Contemplative
4
Bittersweet
4
Other
10

How their films linger

Bittersweet6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteCathartic5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 6 with a twist

  • Happy3
  • Bittersweet6
  • Tragic1
  • Ambiguous5

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Stefan Duscio's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 12 of their 16 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (8).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Stefan Duscio's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

29 credits, 16 with a MovieCove page.

  • Tenzing(2026)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Wolf Man(2025)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films

  • The Dog (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

    Cinematographer

  • Lunacy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

    Cinematographer

  • Little Tornadoes (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    Cinematographer

  • The Dry(2020)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • Face Your Fears: Thriller Shorts for Adults (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)

    Cinematographer

  • The Invisible Man(2020)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • Judy & Punch(2019)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films

  • Sweetheart(2019)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films

  • Acute Misfortune(2018)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films

  • Upgrade(2018)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • Jungle(2017)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • Madly(2016)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films

  • Backtrack(2015)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films

  • A Day at the Office in a Zombie Apocalypse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Cinematographer

  • Lake (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Cinematographer

  • Canopy(2013)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all films

  • Boys On Film 11: We Are Animals (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Cinematographer

  • The Mule(2014)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films

  • The Turning(2013)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films

  • Galore(2013)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • The Last Time I Saw Richard (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    Cinematographer

  • Scumbus (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    Cinematographer

  • Shopping in a Zombie Apocalypse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    Cinematographer

  • Any Questions for Ben?(2012)

    Camera Operator · Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films

  • The Man Who Could Not Dream (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    Cinematographer

  • Pinion (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Cinematographer

  • Mandarin Peel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    Cinematographer

Career shape

A full career of 29 titles from 2009 to 2026.

Biggest box office

The Invisible Man (2020)

$144M worldwide

Highest rated

Tenzing (2026)

Midcredits 97th

By role

only this rolewith another role
Cinematography29 of 29: 28 only cinematography, 1 with another role · typical Midcredits score48thOther crew1 of 29: 0 only other crew, 1 with another role

By decade

2000s1 · crew2010s20 · crew2020s8 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Stefan Duscio's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 48th percentile, the median of all 16; across their 15 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 50th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

50thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 15

Approval · how many liked their films

52ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 15

Reach · how many have seen their films

80thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 15

Midcredits score across 16 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up4
  • 50th to 74th4
  • 25th to 49th6
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

5 of their 16 titles are Mixed.

  • Universally Loved2
  • Cult Classic2
  • Crowd Pleaser4
  • Broadly Agreed3
  • Mixed5

Most divisive · cinematographer

Madly (2016)

89th percentile spread · 34% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · cinematographer

Tenzing (2026)

Midcredits 97th · 86% liked

Reviewers score the cinematography 74/100 in their films, across 13 reviewed titles; fans 80, detractors 55. The element that speaks to their work as a cinematographer.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Stefan Duscio's work okay for kids?

Across up to 9 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, profanity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films and sex & nudity lighter.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore7 titles57–88 · median 78 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity9 titles12–50 · median 16 · mildlighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity7 titles47–63 · median 56 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs7 titles4–50 · median 35 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense8 titles63–82 · median 68 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Stefan Duscio work with?

People who share at least 2 of Stefan Duscio's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Andy Canny shares the most, 6.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles