Cameraperson
Directed by Kirsten Johnson
2016Documentary102 minUnited States
Cinematographer Kirsten Johnson weaves 25 years of her footage into a moving memoir that asks what it means to film another person.
Synopsis
What does it mean to film another person? How does it affect that person - and what does it do to the one who films?
A boxing match in Brooklyn; life in postwar Bosnia and Herzegovina; the daily routine of a Nigerian midwife; an intimate family moment at home: these scenes and others are woven into Cameraperson, a tapestry of footage captured over the twenty-five-year career of documentary cinematographer Kirsten Johnson. 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 and crafted narrative. A work that combines documentary, autobiography, and ethical inquiry, Cameraperson is both a moving glimpse into one filmmaker’s personal journey and a thoughtful examination of what it means to train a camera on the world.
The director
Kirsten Johnson
Kirsten Johnson is an American cinematographer and director who shot many acclaimed documentaries, including Citizenfour. Cameraperson, her memoir assembled from that footage, was followed by Dick Johnson Is Dead (2020).
