I always say that there are few things more inspiring than seeing a passionate photographer talking about their work. That because? Well, very simple. An image speaks, it says many things, especially if it is one of those great images that we all dream of creating. But a great image seems unattainable, distant, perfect, the work of an almost superior being ? When we watch documentaries by great photographers, we realize that these almost superior beings are not really. They are actually like you or me. In reality they are mere mortals who "only" differ from any other by their commitment, their passion, their dedication, their work and their resistance to failure. You do not believe me? Surely one of the following documentaries will prove me right ?
1. REAR WINDOW ( REAR WINDOW ) 1954
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Classic where they exist, it tells the story of a murder through a photographer who has to stay home due to a leg in a cast. To distract himself, he spends his time looking through the window at his neighbors, until he begins to suspect his neighbor. With no less than 4 Oscar nominations: Best Director, Sound, Color Photography, Screenplay and at the BAFTA Awards: Nominated for Best Film.
2. BLOW UP ( SUMMER MORNING DESIRE ) 1966
Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni. It is a thriller adapted from a short story by Julio Cortázar that tells the story of a fashion photographer who believes he discovers a murder among the images of a session held in a London park. Winner of several awards and many nominations, including the Palme d'Or for Best Film (1966), and the nomination for 2 Oscars (director and screenplay) or the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, among others.
3. THE KILLING FIELDS ( THE SCREAMS OF SILENCE ) 1984
Directed by Roland Joffé. Film based on true events that narrates the life of a New York Times journalist sent to Cambodia as a war correspondent in 1972. There he meets Dith Pran (who plays himself), who acts as an interpreter and guide. Pran refuses to emigrate to the US with his family when the regime falls and decides to stay to help the American journalist. He will eventually be sent to a concentration camp in Cambodia. Winner of many awards including the Oscars for Best Supporting Actor, Editing and Photography and 8 BAFTA Awards including Best Photography.
- The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor . 2015. Directed by Arthur Dong. If after The killing Fields you have been left wanting more, this is the documentary about the life of Dr. Haing S. Ngor, taken prisoner by the Khmer Rouge and sent to a concentration camp along with his wife from which he manages to escape with life, winner of an Oscar for The Killing Fields, world ambassador for justice in his country and tragically murdered in Chinatown in the US where he had finally emigrated...
4. ANNIE LEIBOVITZ, LIFE THROUGH A LENS ( ANNIE LEIBOVITZ, A LIFE THROUGH THE CAMERA ) 1993
Directed by Barbara Leibovitz. Annie Leibovitz is mainly known for her celebrity portraits although her work is much more extensive (landscapes or documentary photography ). She is the highest paid photographer in the world and has received countless awards, being considered a living legend and one of the most influential photographers of all time. This documentary walks through her personal history and her evolution as a photographer.
5. WAR PHOTOGRAPHER 2002
Directed by Christian Frei. Swiss documentary film that tells the story as a war photographer of James Natchwey, one of the best war photographers of all time, who is still active and winning awards today. If you like the theme at all, surely you have seen many of his images. See how he works, his level of effort and demand, how he moves in the middle of an armed conflict through a subjective video camera, see how he answers the eternal questions about why that job, how he endures it or what he feels, what it is like his life after so much horror, or what his professional colleagues think about him... This documentary is worth every second invested in viewing it. Don't miss it ?
6. BORN INTO BROTHELS ( CHILDREN OF THE RED LIGHT DISTRICT ) 2004
Directed by Ross Kauffman and Zana Briski Set in the red light district of Calcutta, it documents how a journalist puts the children of sex workers in the hands of very simple cameras. The result is absolutely wonderful. He has won several awards, including the Oscar for Best Documentary (2004) or the Sundance Festival Audience Award. If you ever thought you weren't taking good photos because you didn't have the right equipment or enough technical knowledge, check out what these kids are capable of with a compact camera ?
7. EVERLASTING MOMENTS ( THE ETERNAL MOMENTS OF MARIA LARSSONS ) 2008
Directed by Jan Troell. It tells the story of Maria, a young low-class worker from the turn of the century, who one day wins a camera in the lottery. From the moment she looks through the viewfinder, her life takes a drastic change and she begins to live a double life... A film about the value of dreams, passion and perseverance. Nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, winner of several Guldbagge Awards (Sweden) for Best Actress, Supporting Actress, Actor, Supporting Actor or Film, among others.
8. THE BANG BANG CLUB 2010
Directed by Steven Silver. Based on the autobiographical book The Bang-Bang Club: Snapshots from a Hidden Warnarrates the life of 4 war photojournalists in South Africa in full apartheid. Of the 4, 2 of them won the Pulitzer Prize (Kevin Carter and Greg Marinovich).
9. THE MEXICAN SUITCASE 2011
Directed by Trisha Ziff. It explains the discovery of a suitcase containing no less than 4,500 negatives belonging to Robert Capa, Gerda Taro and David Seymour that they took during the Spanish Civil War and which disappeared to be recovered 70 years later in Mexico City. A historical document like few others that demonstrates the power of images to change the course of history.
10. THE MANY LIVES OF WILLIAM KLEIN 2012
Directed by Richard Bright. Documentary about the prestigious New York photographer, painter and filmmaker William Klein, a lover of Paris where he lives and where he has done most of his work. He is famous for his collaboration in Vogue magazine and for his Street photography reports in cities like Paris, Tokyo, Rome or New York, of which he is considered one of his main creators and teachers.
11. MCCULLIN 2012
Documentary about the life of photographer Don McCullin. Don McCullin is known to be one of the best photojournalists in the world (if not the best). He has portrayed conflicts, wars and famines for more than 18 years all over the planet, although he is also known for having portrayed the Beatles or for having been saved by his Nikon when it stopped a bullet that was going for him. This award-winning documentary is worth not only for the retrospective it offers us of his work but, above all, for listening to one of the most impressive photographers of all time recount his experience and try to answer questions such as why I do this, why why am I here or for what purpose… ?
12. EVERYBODY STREET 2013
Directed by Cheryl Dunn. If you like street photography, this documentary is Streetphotography in its purest form. From the hand of great photographers such as Bruce Davidson, Elliott Erwitt, Jill Freedman, Bruce Gilden, Joel Meyerowitz, Rebecca Lepkoff, Mary Ellen Mark, and many more, this documentary invites us to delve into the world of photography and the place that has inspired and continues to inspire many of the great photographers of all time: New York.
13. FINDING VIVIAN MAIER 2013
Directed by John Maloof and Charlie Siskel. An extremely interesting documentary that narrates the life of Vivian Maier , an unknown photographer who photographed the streets of New York throughout her life while she was a babysitter. Only after her death and by chance was part of her great work found that has made her one of the best photographers of all time. Documentary nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA award and a Satellite Awards, among others, for best documentary.
14. THE SALT OF THE EARTH ( THE SALT OF THE EARTH ) 2014
Directed by Wim Wenders and his own son Juliano Ribeiro Salgado. A documentary about the life of the unique Sebastiâo Salgado. This wonderful photographer who has documented migrations, wars, famines, cultures, and landscapes on all continents for more than 40 years and with a unique and inimitable style of captivating beauty, shows us the journey of his work on the human being. The salt of the Earth is an ode to the human being and to his latest work, Genesis, an ode to mother nature in which he has traveled the entire planet to claim the beauty of the unique and the fragility of a planet increasingly worn down by human contact. Nominated for an Oscar for Best Long Documentary, Special Jury Award at Cannes, and Audience Award at the San Sebastian Festival, among others. To see it a thousand times ?
15.LIFE 2015
Directed by Anton Corbijn, it tells the story of the friendship between the photographer from the Magnum agency Dennis Stock and the actor James Dean that arose as a result of the photographic report after the premiere of the film East of Eden and from which some of the most important images will emerge . iconic of the actor
