DOC NYC: Films About Photography
This year, DOC NYC’s lineup contains a number of films about the art of the still image, or those who practice the craft of photography.
EDDIE ADAMS: SAIGON ’68 WORLD PREMIERE “Photographs do lie,” said Eddie Adams who took one of the Vietnam War’s most arresting photos of a point-blank execution. Filmmaker Douglas Sloan (ELLIOTT ERWITT: I BARK AT DOGS) investigates this famous image, revealing the complicated back-story of Adams and Nguyen Ngoc Loan, seen in the photo pulling the trigger. Sloan will screen his 15 min short featuring interviews with Peter Arnett, Bill Eppridge, Richard Pyle, Morley Safer and Bob Schieffer; followed by a live conversation about Adams’ legacy and the questions raised by the film.
Expected to Attend: Douglas Sloan, Morley Safer, Bob Schieffer, Hal Buell, Bill Eppridge, James S. Robbins
VII UNCOMMISSIONED WORLD PREMIERE Founded in 2001 by seven of the world’s leading photojournalists, VII (“Seven”) now represents 23 preeminent photojournalists/filmmakers. Renowned for producing cutting edge multimedia, VII’s work is published by the world’s most respected news organizations and is broadcast internationally. In 2012, VII received two Emmy Award nominations for documentary features, two World Press Photo Awards and nine Pictures of the Year International Honors. In VII Uncommissioned, members of the acclaimed photo agency showcase their their award-winning short documentary films.
Expected to Attend: Ed Kashi
TIME ZERO: THE LAST YEAR OF POLAROID FILM In 2008, with digital photography on the rise, the Polaroid Corporation ceased production of all Polaroid instant film, the product that had made the company a household name. There begins the story of the international grassroots campaign to save the beloved, threatened format. Time Zero beautifully captures the passion of instant film fans around the world, and the lengths to which they went to save it from oblivion.
Expected to Attend: Grant Hamilton, Dave Bias, Jackie Neale Chadwick, Dan Weissman
SHENANDOAH WORLD PREMIERE Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, is a coal mining town with a proud immigrant heritage, once pivotal in fueling America’s industrial revolution. Now the town is on the skids, struggling to retain its identity, soul, and values—all of which were dramatically challenged when four of the town’s white, high-school football stars were charged in the beating death of an undocumented Mexican immigrant named Luis Ramirez. Pulitzer Prize-winner David Turnley creates a deeply felt portrait of a working-class community on trial.
Expected to Attend: David Turnley
MORE THAN THE RAINBOW WORLD PREMIERE Stretching beyond the limits of the classic character study documentary, MORE THAN THE RAINBOW not only chronicles the life and times of street photographer and former taxi driver Matt Weber, it becomes a vibrant conversation about the photographic medium, artistic expression, and New York City. Reflecting upon photography at the end of the analog age, the film is highlighted by gorgeous 35mm montage sequences set to the music of jazz legend Thelonious Monk. Weber’s extraordinary photographs will resonate long after the film is over.
Expected to Attend: Dan Wechsler, Matt Weber
MEN AT LUNCH US PREMIERE This remarkable documentary explores the untold story behind one of the most iconic images of the twentieth century: the 1932 photograph of workmen taking their lunch perched on a girder high above New York City on the 69th floor of Rockefeller Center. Part homage, part investigation, this is the beautiful tale of an American icon, an unprecedented race to the sky and the immigrant workers who built New York.
Expected to Attend: Seán Ó Cualáín
5 BROKEN CAMERAS This deeply personal, first-hand account of non-violent resistance was shot almost entirely by Palestinian farmer Emad Burnat in a West Bank village threatened by encroaching Israeli settlements. Burnat’s footage was turned into a galvanizing cinematic experience in collaboration with co-director Guy Davidi. Structured around the violent destruction of a succession of Burnat’s video cameras, the film follows one family’s evolution over five years of village turmoil. “I feel like the camera protects me,” Burnat says, “but it’s an illusion.” Courtesy of Kino Lorber.
