Roman Osin, born – 1961 in Leipzig, East Germany at the inception of the Berlin-wall, was by default no stranger to politics, conspiracy, or poverty from an early age. His subsequent  globe trotting formative years, preparing him well for the international career in Cinematography he was to achieve in his adulthood.

Blessed with an innate keen interest for the poetry of light, and joy in observing people, he spent his teens hooked on old classic black and white Hollywood movies, and the photography of greats of that era such as G.Hoyningen Huene, George Hurrell, C.Beaton. His interest and love for photography broadened with discovering such various luminaries as, W.E. Smith, H.C. Bresson, R.Capa, Y. Karsh, H.Newton, when he chose to study photography in evening school, at Derby College of Higher Education 1979, after his long days shift working at Rolls Royce factory in Derby, where he lived the later part of his teens, having escaped the clutches of the Iron curtain to England via a 4 year detour to Africa. There, in Nigeria he discovered an intensity of natural light not prevalent in Europe, the impression of which he carries with him today, and which was to attract him to his first ‘career starter’ films shot in Cyprus “Under The Stars” 2001, and the deserts of India.

At 20 in 1981 Roman came to the LCP film school in London (now London School of Communication 1981-85) He quickly asserted himself as a director of music videos at a time (the 80’s) when that format reached it’s peak, before his stint in the industry showed him his true vocation, and he returned to study at the NFTS (National Film and Television School 1991-95), now focusing  on Cinematography. His real passion.

After his successful collaboration as DoP on an ambitious  student film shot in India, that won the Cannes Student film award (Sheep Thief 1997), and having, with the same director Asif Kapadia, already won the Kodak ‘1-reel’ student Commercials award, fate had Roman move from shooting  shorts, Docs, Music videos and Commercials that he was working on while at college, to jump on a plane with his fellow and future long term collaborator Kapadia, to India again, and shoot Asif's the two times BAFTA award winning Debut feature (“The Warrior” 2001), which won a number of cinematography prizes and set Roman Osin’s career in forward motion.

A string of subsequent award winning films followed, including the much loved “Pride and Prejudice"2005 by Joe Wright, Kapadia’s later beautiful but dark psychological thriller “Far North”2006, the brutally honest critically acclaimed “NEDs” 2009 Peter Mullen. And more recently the wonderfully tense Horror “Autopsy of Jane Doe"2015 by Andre Ovredal, a current frequent collaborator of Roman’s

Roman Osin became a BSC member in 2005 after the critical and commercial success of Pride and Prejudice.

He lives between London and Berlin, and enjoys nothing more than taking ‘snaps’ while people watching over a coffee and nice piece of cake.

 

Selected Awards/nominations: -

Texas Film Festival - Best Cinematography SHEEP THIEF

BIFFA Outstanding Technical Acgievemnent  - WARRIOR 
2001

San Sebastian International Film Festival BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY –THE WARRIOR 2001

European Film Awards BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY nomination PRIDE & PREJUDICE 2005

Chicago Film Critics Assc.  Best cinematography nomination PRIDE & PREJUDICE 2005

St Louis Critics Assc.  Best cinematography nomination PRIDE & PREJUDICE 2005

Les Arcs European Film Festival – Best Cinematography – NEDS 2010

2014 Argentine Film Academy Award nomination THE GAMES MAKER 2014 

Selected 8 credits:-

Mickybo and Me 2003

Pride and Prejudice 2004

Far North 2006

Mr. Magorium’s wonder Emporium 2006

Neds 2009

Wont back Down 2012

Autopsy of Jane Doe 2015

Scary Stories After Dark 2018