Gabriel Beristain

Gabriel Beristain (also credited as Luis Gabriel Beristáin) is a Mexico City–born cinematographer, producer, and television director whose camera work bridges independent roots and major studio filmmaking. Born May 9, 1955, he grew up around performance as the son of actor Luis Beristáin, and found his own path behind the lens in Mexico’s 1970s indie scene.

After studying engineering at the Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Beristain shifted toward film, producing audiovisual training materials and shooting documentaries before launching a small commercial outfit. A move to Italy in 1977 led—on Sergio Leone’s advice—to the United Kingdom, where he entered the National Film and Television School and trained in cinematography under Oswald Morris and Billy Williams.

His early features brought international recognition: he won Best Cinematography at the Bogotá Film Festival for Bloody Flesh (1983), earned a Special Silver Bear for Derek Jarman’s Caravaggio (1986), and contributed to the Cannes-nominated anthology Aria (1987). He later collaborated with filmmakers including Guillermo del Toro, David Mamet, and David Ayer, with credits spanning The Distinguished Gentleman, The Spanish Prisoner, Blade II, and Street Kings.

In the 2000s, Beristain became a key additional-photography presence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, shot Marvel One-Shots like Item 47 and Agent Carter, and served as cinematographer on the Agent Carter series, culminating in his Marvel feature DP work on Black Widow (2021). A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and BAFTA, he is also affiliated with the BSC and ASC, and has appeared on screen as himself in projects such as Incident at Loch Ness and The Blood Pact: The Making of 'Blade II'.