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Shabier Kirchner

Shabier Kirchner

Cinematographer · Born January 1, 1987 (39) · Antigua

Primetime Emmy nominee · 1 other major award body

Shabier Kirchner (born 1987/1988) is an Antiguan cinematographer and director based between London, New York, and the Caribbean. He won a BAFTA for his work on Steve McQueen's five-part anthology series Small Axe(2020). Description above from the Wikipedia article Shabier Kirchner, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
January 1, 1987 (39)
From
Antigua
Works as
Cinematographer
Titles
10 on MovieCove · 17 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 155 days to Oct 26Up 30% in 30 days

What are Shabier Kirchner's films like?

Across their 8 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
39%
Bonds
29%
Society
13%
Power
7%
Morality
7%
Survival
7%
Identity4 titles, browse their movies with this themeIsolation3 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love2 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship2 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 7 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 3 · Serious 1 · Dark 3

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

Grounded 5 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 0

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

Gentle 1 · Charged 6 · Intense 0

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

Steady 5 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0

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

Straight-faced 5 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 0

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 6 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 0

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

Casual 3 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 1

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

A split, not a type: Resolved 2 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 3

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
5
Melancholic
5
Contemplative
5
Dread
2
Romantic
2
Other
4

How their films linger

Hopeful3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Bittersweet6
  • Ambiguous2

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 Shabier Kirchner's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 10 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Prime Video (5).

Subscription and free streaming for Shabier Kirchner'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

17 credits, 10 with a MovieCove page.

  • Materialists(2025)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films

  • Get Millie Black(2024)

    Show Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all shows

  • Past Lives(2023)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films

  • Lizard (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

    Cinematographer

  • Small Axe(2020)

    Show 5 episodes · Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all shows

  • Bull(2019)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films

  • Only You(2018)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films

  • Leaving Hope (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    Cinematographer

  • Dadli (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    Director · Cinematographer · Producer

  • Skate Kitchen(2018)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • Sollers Point(2017)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films

  • Growing Up Smith(2015)

    Third Assistant Camera

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films

  • That One Day (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Cinematographer

  • We've Forgotten More Than We Ever Knew(2016)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films

  • Throuple (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Cinematographer

  • Augustown (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director

  • Enemies (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Cinematographer

Career shape

A full career of 16 titles, 14 of them dated from 2015 to 2025.

Biggest box office

Materialists (2025)

$108M worldwide

Highest rated

Past Lives (2023)

Midcredits 98th

Most popular right now

Materialists (2025)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing2 of 16: 1 only directing, 1 with another roleProducing1 of 16: 0 only producing, 1 with another roleCinematography14 of 16: 13 only cinematography, 1 with another role · typical Midcredits score73rdOther crew1 of 16: 1 only other crew, 0 with another role

By decade

2010s9 · crew2020s5 · 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.

Awards

2 major nominations and no wins, 2021.

  1. 2021
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
    • +1 other major body · 1 nomination
      • Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best Cinematography

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do Shabier Kirchner's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 72nd percentile, the median of all 8; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 59th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

59thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Approval · how many liked their films

68thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Reach · how many have seen their films

79thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Midcredits score across 10 titles, by percentile

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

Shape of the crowd

5 of their 10 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Crowd Pleaser5
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed3

Most divisive · cinematographer

We've Forgotten More Than We Ever Knew (2016)

57th percentile spread · 35% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · cinematographer

Past Lives (2023)

Midcredits 98th · 86% liked

Reviewers score the cinematography 75/100 in their films, across 7 reviewed titles; fans 82, detractors 42. 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 Shabier Kirchner's work okay for kids?

Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity runs heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore4 titlesmedian 9 · minimalMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity5 titles22–57 · median 42 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity3 titlesmedian 40 · moderateMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs3 titlesmedian 35 · mildMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense3 titlesmedian 15 · mildMedian 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 Shabier Kirchner work with?

People who share at least 2 of Shabier Kirchner's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Celine Song shares the most, 2.

Directors

Actors

Editors

Producers