Oscar-winning cinematographer Mauro Fiore calls Nebraska home

ELKHORN, Neb. (KMTV) — Filmmaking may be synonymous with Hollywood, but one of the industry's acclaimed cinematographers makes his home right here in Nebraska.

Oscar-winning cinematographer Mauro Fiore lives in the Elkhorn area with his wife, Christine, building a life away from Hollywood while continuing a career behind the camera.

Fiore moved to the United States from Italy with his family when he was 7 years old. His early interests in music, art and photography eventually led him to filmmaking, an artform that combined those passions.

"It just kind of brought everything together for me, and film school was perfect," Fiore said.

While attending film school, Fiore began discovering some of the filmmakers and movies that would influence his work.

"Fellini... things like A Clockwork Orange, Apocalypse Now, you know, it's an amazing history," Fiore said.

A major break in Fiore's career came when he was hired to work on the crew of Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List, alongside his close friend Janusz Kamiński, who was the Director of Photography on the film.

Fiore later met his wife, Christine, on another movie set, where she was working as a costume designer. The couple lived in Los Angeles before eventually deciding to move their family to Christine's hometown in Nebraska.

"We've been able to create this life for ourselves in Nebraska," Fiore said. "Cause we're here and it's been really interesting for me and my wife to have this completely different way of life away from Hollywood."

In 2010, Fiore reached the highest point of his profession when his work on James Cameron's science-fiction epic Avatar earned him the Academy Award for cinematography.

Despite the enormous scale of the production, Fiore said he didn't let its size change the way he approached the job.

"The funny thing is I didn't realize the scale of that project, and that was probably a good thing," Fiore said. "I never approached it that way and I never approach anything that way."

Fiore continues working on major film productions while living in Nebraska. His newest film, Heart of the Beast, stars Brad Pitt. He has also wrapped work on another film starring Angelina Jolie.

For Fiore, part of the excitement of filmmaking comes from the variety the job offers and the opportunity to learn from the people around him.

"I think film is a common language, and also just the ideas for how to film a scene," Fiore said. "I mean the interesting thing is like when you think you know how to put a film together and somebody comes around and just shows you something else or has a different way of looking at it, it's great."

Fiore's career has taken him to some of Hollywood's biggest productions, but his life in Nebraska shows the film industry doesn't have to be confined to the West Coast.

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