LOS ANGELES – Two Filipino-Americans are nominated in the upcoming 83rd annual Academy Awards that will be held on February 27.

Filipino cinematographer Matthew Libatique of “Black Swan,” who is the son of Justiniano (from Dagupan, Pangasinan) and Georgina Libatique (from Lucena, Quezon), is the first 100 percent Filipino to earn a major Oscar nomination.

Libatique, who already bagged the best cinematography awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics, the New York Film Critics and the New York Online, is nominated for best in cinematography for his work on “Black Swan” and will be competing against the cinematographers of “Inception,” “The King’s Speech,” “The Social Network,” and “True Grit.”

Part-Filipina 14-year-old actress Hailee Steinfeld, whose father is Jewish and whose mother Cheri is part-Filipina, is nominated in the best supporting actress category for her performance in “True Grit.” She will be competing against Golden Globe winner Melissa Leo of “The Fighter,” Amy Adams also of “The Fighter,” Helena Bonham Carter of “The King’s Speech,” and Jacki Weaver of “Animal Kingdom.”

The 42-year-old Libatique, who is fondly known as Matty to his colleagues, won a Best Cinematography trophy from the Independent Spirit Awards for “Requiem for a Dream” which was named one of the best shot films of 1998-2008 by the American Cinematographer, the magazine of The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC).

A former classmate of “Black Swan” director Darren Aronofsky at the American Film Institute (AFI), Libatique has impressed Aronofsky so much that he has already done five films with him – “Requiem for a Dream,” “The Fountain,” “Pi,” “Protozoa,” “Black Swan” – and next, “Wolverine.”

The award-winning cinematographer, who disclosed

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