# What is the best film shot by Bradford Young?

> Sundance debuts shot in near-darkness sit beside blockbuster spectacle, all lit with the same painterly instinct. Which frame stays with you?

*By YPB Team · Published September 8, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-best-film-shot-by-bradford-young*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete** — score 1000/1000
   The 2013 drama about two boys surviving a Brooklyn summer alone in their housing project.
2. **Arrival** — score 930/1000
   Denis Villeneuve's 2016 first-contact drama whose muted, misty imagery earned Young an Oscar nomination.
3. **Solo: A Star Wars Story** — score 848/1000
   The 2018 Star Wars spin-off following a young Han Solo, shot in deep shadow and neon.
4. **Selma** — score 818/1000
   Ava DuVernay's 2014 civil-rights drama about the march from Selma to Montgomery.
5. **A Most Violent Year** — score 636/1000
   J.C. Chandor's 1981-set crime drama praised for its smoky, amber-toned New York.
6. **Restless City** — score 521/1000
   Andrew Dosunmu's 2011 portrait of an African immigrant musician surviving in New York.
7. **Middle of Nowhere** — score 520/1000
   Ava DuVernay's 2012 drama about a woman whose life stalls while her husband is incarcerated.
8. **Where Is Kyra?** — score 520/1000
   Andrew Dosunmu's 2017 drama starring Michelle Pfeiffer, shot in near-darkness.
9. **Pariah** — score 382/1000
   Dee Rees's 2011 debut about a Brooklyn teenager embracing her identity, a Sundance breakout.
10. **Ain't Them Bodies Saints** — score 212/1000
   David Lowery's 2013 Texas outlaw romance shot in glowing, Malick-like natural light.
11. **Mother of George** — score 212/1000
   Andrew Dosunmu's 2013 Brooklyn-set drama about a Nigerian couple, famed for its saturated color.

Tags: movies, usa, 2010s, cinematography