question: Who was the cinematographer best known for photographing the 1999 American drama film directed by Sam Mendes and written by Alan Ball?
answer: Conrad Lafcadio Hall
context: Title: List of accolades received by American Beauty
  Passage: "American Beauty" is a 1999 American drama film directed by Sam Mendes and written by Alan Ball.  The film stars Kevin Spacey as Lester Burnham, a middle-aged office worker who has a midlife crisis when he becomes infatuated with his teenage daughter's best friend.  Released in North America on September 15, 1999, "American Beauty" was positively received by critics and audiences alike; it was the best-reviewed American film of the year and grossed over $350 million worldwide.  Reviewers praised all aspects of the production, with particular emphasis on Mendes, Spacey and Ball; criticism tended to focus on the familiarity of the characters and setting.  At the 1999 Academy Awards, the film won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (for Spacey), Best Original Screenplay and Best Cinematography (for Conrad Hall).  The film was nominated for and won numerous other awards and honors, mainly for the direction, writing, and acting.
  Title: Roger Deakins
  Passage: Roger Alexander Deakins, (born May 24, 1949) is an English cinematographer best known for his work on the films of the Coen brothers, Sam Mendes, and Denis Villeneuve.  Deakins is a member of both the American and British Society of Cinematographers.  He received the 2011 American Society of Cinematographers (A.S.C.) Lifetime Achievement Award.  Deakins has received thirteen nominations for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography.
  Title: Ellen Kuras
  Passage: Ellen Kuras (born July 10, 1959 in New Jersey) is an American cinematographer whose body of work includes narrative and documentary films, music videos and commercials in both the studio and independent worlds.  One of few female members of the American Society of Cinematographers, she is a pioneer best known for her work in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (2004).  She has collaborated with directors such as Michel Gondry, Spike Lee, Sam Mendes, Jim Jarmusch, Rebecca Miller, Martin Scorsese and more.  She is the three-time winner of the Award for Excellence in Dramatic Cinematography at the Sundance Film Festival, for her films "", "Angela" and "Swoon", which was her first dramatic feature after getting her start in political documentaries.
  Title: American Beauty (1999 film)
  Passage: American Beauty is a 1999 American drama film directed by Sam Mendes and written by Alan Ball.  Kevin Spacey stars as Lester Burnham, a 42-year-old advertising executive who has a midlife crisis when he becomes infatuated with his teenage daughter's best friend, Angela (Mena Suvari).  Annette Bening co-stars as Lester's materialistic wife, Carolyn, and Thora Birch plays their insecure daughter, Jane.  Wes Bentley, Chris Cooper, and Allison Janney also feature.  The film is described by academics as a satire of American middle-class notions of beauty and personal satisfaction; analysis has focused on the film's explorations of romantic, and paternal love, sexuality, beauty, materialism, self-liberation, and redemption.
  Title: Return to Waterloo (film)
  Passage: Return to Waterloo is a 1984 British musical film written and directed by Ray Davies and starring Tim Roth, Kenneth Colley and Claire Parker.  The film shows the journey of a commuter from Guildford to Waterloo in London.  The soundtrack was provided by The Kinks who released an album "Return to Waterloo" in connection with it.  The film's cinematographer, Roger Deakins, would receive great acclaim in British and American film working with the Coen brothers and Sam Mendes.
  Title: Conrad Hall
  Passage: Conrad Lafcadio Hall, ASC (June 21, 1926 – January 6, 2003) was an American cinematographer from Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia.  Named after writers Joseph Conrad and Lafcadio Hearn, he was best known for photographing films such as "In Cold Blood", "Cool Hand Luke", "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", "American Beauty", and "Road to Perdition".  For his work he garnered a number of awards, including three Academy Awards and BAFTA Awards.
  Title: 66th British Academy Film Awards
  Passage: The 66th British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs, were held on 10 February 2013 at the Royal Opera House in London, honouring the best national and foreign films of 2012.  The nominations were announced on 9 January 2013.  Presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, accolades were handed out for the best feature-length film and documentaries of any nationality that were screened at British cinemas in 2012.  Stephen Fry hosted the ceremony, where "Argo" won Best Film and Best Director for Ben Affleck.  Daniel Day-Lewis won Best Actor for "Lincoln" and Emmanuelle Riva won Best Actress for "Amour".  Christoph Waltz won Best Supporting Actor for "Django Unchained" and Anne Hathaway won Best Supporting Actress for "Les Misérables". " Skyfall", directed by Sam Mendes, was voted Outstanding British Film of 2012.  Sir Alan Parker received the BAFTA Fellowship and Tessa Ross garnered the BAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award.
  Title: Pilot (Six Feet Under)
  Passage: "Pilot" (also called "Six Feet Under") is the pilot episode of the American drama television series "Six Feet Under".  It premiered in the United States on the premium cable network HBO on June 3, 2001.  The episode was written and directed by series creator Alan Ball.
  Title: Strange Love (True Blood)
  Passage: "Strange Love" is the pilot episode of "True Blood".  The episode was written and directed by Alan Ball and originally aired in the United States on HBO on September 7, 2008.  In the episode, Sookie Stackhouse meets vampire Bill Compton and saves him from vicious vampire drainers, while her best friend Tara becomes the new bartender at Sam Merlotte's bar and Sookie's brother Jason finds himself accused of murder.  The episode received generally positive reviews from critics.  It was rated TV-MA for Adult Content, Adult Language, Nudity, Strong Sexual Content, and Violence.
  Title: Revolutionary Road (film)
  Passage: Revolutionary Road is a 2008 British-American romantic drama film directed by Sam Mendes.  It was written by Justin Haythe and based on the 1961 novel of the same name by Richard Yates.  This is the second on-screen collaboration among Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet and Kathy Bates, who previously co-starred in "Titanic".  The performances of DiCaprio and Winslet earned them a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama nomination and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress respectively, and the film was nominated for a further three Golden Globes, four BAFTAs and three Oscars.
citations: American Beauty (1999 film) Conrad Hall