Jim Frohna

Frohna was born and raised in Greendale, Wisconsin. He attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, then transferred to New York University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Tisch School of the Arts.

Frohna's work as a director of photography is known for conveying a palpable sense of intimacy[1][2] and for capturing the female gaze.[3] In a 2014 IndieWire interview, Jeffrey Tambor praised Frohna's work, saying:

"Jim is probably the most intuitive [director of photography] I've ever worked with. He knows before you know where the action is going to go. During this one scene with an argument, he was lying in the floor just covered in sweat afterward. He's not just photographing it, he's experiencing it. He was all but a cast member." [4]

Frohna began his career as a commercial cinematographer when he stepped in for director of photography Joaquin Baca Asay on the notable Sony Bravia's Sony Balls commercial for director Nicolai Fuglsig in 2005.[5]

Frohna first collaborated with Jill Soloway as director of photography on the comedy-drama Afternoon-Delight, for which Soloway won the award for Best Director at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.[6][7] He has worked as director of photography with over 25 eminent DGA directors, including Andrea Arnold, Davis Guggenheim, Peyton Reed, Kimberley Pierce, Mike Mills, Dayton Faris and Jill Soloway. In 2014, Frohna collaborated with Soloway again, serving as the cinematographer on the Amazon series Transparent, starring Jeffrey Tambor, Gaby Hoffmann, Jay Duplass, and Amy Landecker,[8][9] and on the 2017 comedy series I Love Dick, starring Kevin Bacon and Kathryn Hahn.[10][11] Frohna also served as cinematographer on four episodes of the Showtime series I'm Dying Up Here, starring Melissa Leo, Michael Angarano, and Al Madrigal.

In addition to cinematography, Frohna served as director for multiple episodes of Transparent, including The Book of Life and I Never Promised You a Promised Land, and of I Love Dick for the episode This Is Not A Love Letter.[12]

In February 2018, Frohna began pre-production with director Andrea Arnold for season 2 of the HBO series Big Little Lies, starring Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Zoë Kravitz, and Laura Dern.[13][14]

In 2017, Frohna was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (Half-Hour) for his work on Transparent.[15]

Frohna is married to artist and producer Diana Kunce; they collaborated on the 2018 Sundance Official Selection short Eve with Susan Bay-Nimoy.[20] They have two children.

• Jim Frohna Official Site
• Jim Frohna at IMDb