War Photographer

Infobox Film
name = War Photographer


imdb_id = 0309061
starring = James Nachtwey
Christiane Amanpour
Hans-Hermann Klare
Christiane Breustedt
Des Wright
Denis O'Neill
producer = Christian Frei
released = November 2001
runtime = 96 min.
language = English, German and French
music = Eleni Karaindrou
Arvo Pärt
David Darling
cinematography = Peter Indergand
James Nachtwey (microcam)
awards = Peabody Award
Oscar nomination
Emmy Award nomination

"War Photographer" is a documentary about photographer James Nachtwey. As well as telling the story of an iconic man in the field of war photography, the film addresses the broader scope of ideas common to all those involved in war journalism, as well as the issues that they cover.

The documentary won a 2003 Peabody Award, and was nominated for an Oscar in 2002 and an Emmy Award in 2004. It also won or was nominated for 16 other awards internationally. [http://warphotographer.christian-frei.info/en/ (click on awards). Page accessed October 3, 2006.]

James Nachtwey

War journalism

One of the main themes of the documentary is the level to which a journalist should become involved in the events that they are there to document. Nachtwey credits the intimacy of his photography to his emphasis on establishing a rapport with his subjects, often despite a significant language barrier. Des Wright, a cameraman with Reuters, describes the problem of being too far removed from what is happening. " [Some journalists] say, 'I'm sorry, I'm a journalist, I'm not a part of this.' And I say, but you are a part of it. I think a lot of people would be quite happy for that man to be killed so they can get the particular picture that they want."

The documentary uses footage filmed with a small "microcam" video camera mounted on Nachtwey's SLR cameras. This technique gives a sense of immediacy to the viewer, showing events from the perspective of the photographer.

Events and locations depicted in the film

* Post-war Kosovo
* Poverty and riots in Jakarta, Indonesia
* Ramallah, the West Bank
* A sulfur mine at Ijen in East Java, Indonesia
* New York City, New York, United States
* Hamburg, Germany

Notes

External links

* [http://warphotographer.christian-frei.info/en/ Official site]
* http://www.photofest.org/2002/projects_fillm.php