Biography

Gabriel Beristáin was born in México City, the son of renowned actor Luis Beristáin. His interest in filmmaking began with his seminal work in Mexico's independent film scene. He studied economics and sociology, and formed part of the first graduating class of the Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica, Mexico's prestigious, cutting-edge school for motion picture cinematographers.

After filming some documentaries, Beristáin founded a production company before moving to Europe to continue his film education at the National Film and TV School in England.

Beristáin's first feature film as a cinematographer was the Colombian horror film, Carne De Tu Carne (Bloody Flesh), for which he won the Best Cinematography Award at the Bogotá Film Festival. Beristáin's subsequent work in Derek Jarman's Caravaggio was awarded the Special Silver Bear Award at the Berlin International Film Festival.

After filming the K2 movie in the Himalayas, Beristáin moved to Los Angeles and served as the cinematographer in Academy Award-nominee Taylor Hackford's highly-acclaimed cult classics, Blood In Blood Out, and Dolores Claiborne, based on the celebrated novel by Stephen King. He continued to work as a top cinematographer in more than 70 feature films, most recently Marvel's Black Widow, Harold and the Purple Crayon for Sony Pictures, and MGM's The BeeKeeper, directed by David Ayer and starring Jason Statham. He has worked extensively for Marvel Studios as their go-to cinematographer, with films such as Blade II, Blade Trinity, the Iron Man trilogy, Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor: Ragnarok, and Thor: The Dark World, and television series' such as Hawkeye and Agent Carter. He has also collaborated with acclaimed filmmakers such as David Mamet, Derek Jarman, Roland Joffe, Guillermo del Toro, Antoine Fuqua, and James Wan.

Beristáin has also worked as a cinematographer in TV commercials and music videos, such as the classic trilogy of music videos for the legendary rock band Aerosmith, "Crazy", "Crying" and "Amazing." He directed and served as the Director of Photography in television, with series' such as Hawaii Five-0, MacGyver, The Strain, Exit Strategy, and Magic City under his belt. He most recently shot his feature film directorial debut, The Gentleman, a crime-drama starring Ron Perlman and Marco De La O in the Summer of 2024.

Beristáin splits his time between Los Angeles and Miami, and is a member of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), British Society of Cinematographers (BSC), Mexican Society of Cinematographers (AMC) and the Directors Guild of America (DGA). He is also a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).

- IMDb mini biography by: Rafterman Media