Cameraperson
01: Huntsville, Alabama, image used in Cameraperson, sourced from the documentary Trapped (2016). Photo courtesy The Criterion Collection.
A boxing match in Brooklyn; life in postwar Bosnia and Herzegovina; the daily routine of a Nigerian midwife; an intimate family moment at home with the director: Kirsten Johnson weaves these scenes and others into her film Cameraperson, a tapestry of footage captured over her twenty-five-year career as a documentary cinematographer. Through a series of episodic juxtapositions, Johnson explores the relationships between image makers and their subjects, the tension between the objectivity and intervention of the camera, and the complex interaction of unfiltered reality with crafted narrative. A work that combines documentary, autobiography, and ethical inquiry, Cameraperson is a moving glimpse into one filmmaker’s personal journey and a thoughtful examination of what it means to train a camera on the world.
DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
- New high-definition digital master, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
- Making “Cameraperson”, a new program featuring director Kirsten Johnson, producers Marilyn Ness and Danielle Varga, and editors Nels Bangerter and Amanda Laws
- In the Service of the Film, a roundtable conversation with Johnson, producer Gini Reticker, and sound recordists Wellington Bowler and Judy Karp
- Excerpts from two 2016 film festival talks with Johnson, including one between her and filmmaker Michael Moore
- The Above, a 2015 short film by Johnson
- Trailer
- PLUS: An essay by filmmaker Michael Almereyda and reprinted writings by Johnson
