Cassandra Giraldo is an award-winning cinematographer and documentary filmmaker based between Los Angeles and New York City. She was previously a staff producer and cinematographer at VICE News Tonight where she continues to contribute as a director of photography.
In 2021, her team's coverage of the civil unrest in Chile for Vice News was nominated for a News and Doc Emmy for Outstanding Feature Story in Spanish. She was also among a team of cinematographers recognized with an Emmy award for Outstanding Coverage of a Breaking News Story in a Newscast as part of the Vice newsroom's extensive team coverage of the George Floyd protests across the U.S.
Cassandra began her career as a photojournalist, cutting her teeth as a newspaper photographer, and becoming a regular contributor at The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times where she covered local and national stories. Various photography organizations including Getty Images, Instagram, NPPA, American Photography, and the Eddie Adams Workshop have recognized her photography.
She still takes on regular photo assignment work for a diverse range of editorial and commercial clients including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, NPR, ESPN, The Marshall Project, Reveal, Nike, Wieden+Kennedy, Rivian, and Patagonia. But presently, Cassandra is focusing on her cinematography work as director of photography. Her cinematography has appeared in various documentary series and forthcoming features for Peacock, Vice TV, HBO, among others.
She acted as director of photography for two seasons of the VICE series Transnational which was awarded both a GLAAD and Peabody award in 2022. She excels in intimate character-driven story-telling and vérité shooting. Her documentary production skills are guided by a camera in hand and are informed by her background as a photojournalist which allows her to put people at ease and to problem solve under various contexts.
Cassandra is a graduate of the ICP's Photojournalism and Documentary Program (2012) and holds a Master of Science degree from Columbia Journalism School's Stabile program for investigative journalism (2017). She speaks Spanish and French and is a proud member of both Women Photograph and the Documentary Cinematographer's Alliance. She's also trained in battlefield first-aid after three hostile environment training sessions for journalists and has an FAA Part 107 drone certification. Cassandra is available for projects worldwide and is always available for a friendly coffee to discuss future collaborations - non-fiction, narrative, artistic, journalistic... I'm down to capture it all!
Get in touch: cassandrarian.giraldo@gmail.com
In 2021, her team's coverage of the civil unrest in Chile for Vice News was nominated for a News and Doc Emmy for Outstanding Feature Story in Spanish. She was also among a team of cinematographers recognized with an Emmy award for Outstanding Coverage of a Breaking News Story in a Newscast as part of the Vice newsroom's extensive team coverage of the George Floyd protests across the U.S.
Cassandra began her career as a photojournalist, cutting her teeth as a newspaper photographer, and becoming a regular contributor at The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times where she covered local and national stories. Various photography organizations including Getty Images, Instagram, NPPA, American Photography, and the Eddie Adams Workshop have recognized her photography.
She still takes on regular photo assignment work for a diverse range of editorial and commercial clients including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, NPR, ESPN, The Marshall Project, Reveal, Nike, Wieden+Kennedy, Rivian, and Patagonia. But presently, Cassandra is focusing on her cinematography work as director of photography. Her cinematography has appeared in various documentary series and forthcoming features for Peacock, Vice TV, HBO, among others.
She acted as director of photography for two seasons of the VICE series Transnational which was awarded both a GLAAD and Peabody award in 2022. She excels in intimate character-driven story-telling and vérité shooting. Her documentary production skills are guided by a camera in hand and are informed by her background as a photojournalist which allows her to put people at ease and to problem solve under various contexts.
Cassandra is a graduate of the ICP's Photojournalism and Documentary Program (2012) and holds a Master of Science degree from Columbia Journalism School's Stabile program for investigative journalism (2017). She speaks Spanish and French and is a proud member of both Women Photograph and the Documentary Cinematographer's Alliance. She's also trained in battlefield first-aid after three hostile environment training sessions for journalists and has an FAA Part 107 drone certification. Cassandra is available for projects worldwide and is always available for a friendly coffee to discuss future collaborations - non-fiction, narrative, artistic, journalistic... I'm down to capture it all!
Get in touch: cassandrarian.giraldo@gmail.com