Kirsten,
Let me start by saying that I have no words to describe how incredible your documentary was. I have never truly laughed, cried, felt heartbroken, loved, and been angry all in one sitting. I’m the type of person who reads a book or watches a show once and that’s it. I never re-read or re-watch anything but I can guarantee I will re-watch Cameraperson more than just a few times and learn something new about documentary and myself every time.
Already I have told numerous people about the life-altering documentary I saw Monday night and when asked to describe it, no matter how hard I try, I fail miserably at giving the documentary the justice it deserves. After the film, you talked a lot about sounds versus picture and I found that very profound. No one needs to see the photos of the boy getting dragged behind the car because the sound of the chain was enough to send chills down everyone’s neck. This idea of sound reminded me of Grizzly Man where just the shot of someone listening to his death was enough to make you cringe. The documentary also made me think a lot about perspective. When there was a really intense scene of you in Afghanistan or with the angry women whose mother killed herself I was always thinking about you, the person filming, the scene. I know that’s the point of the movie, to think about the cameraman’s perspective, but it really showed me that there is a human on the other side of the lens sacrificing many things in order to get the shot. The act of seeing those intense situations was much more meaningful than just having been told about it. The question it brought up was what’s the line and when has a line been crossed?
Overall, an amazing documentary, I aspire to be as creative as you.
~Grace Veghte