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Cameraperson

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Cameraperson

2016 Directed by Kirsten Johnson

As a visually radical memoir, CAMERAPERSON draws on the remarkable footage that filmmaker Kirsten Johnson has shot and reframes it in ways that illuminate moments and situations that have personally affected her. What emerges is an elegant meditation on the relationship between truth and the camera frame, as Johnson transforms scenes that have been presented on Festival screens as one kind of truth into another kind of story—one about personal journey, craft, and direct human connection.

Kirsten Johnson Jacques Derrida Michael Moore

Director

Kirsten Johnson

Producers

Kirsten Johnson Marilyn Ness Danielle Varga

Writers

Lisa Freedman Doris Baizley

Editors

Nels Bangerter Amanda Laws

Cinematography

Kirsten Johnson

Executive Producers

Gini Reticker Abigail Disney Amy Ziering

Sound

Eric Milano Pete Horner

Studios

Fork Films Big Mouth Productions The Bertha Foundation Chicken & Egg Pictures

Country

Primary Language

Spoken Languages

Bosnian Arabic English Persian (Farsi) Hausa

Alternative Titles

持摄像机的人, Жената с кинокамера, 攝影者, 카메라를 든 사람

Genre

Themes

Humanity and the world around us Moving relationship stories Powerful stories of heartbreak and suffering Surreal and thought-provoking visions of life and death Humanity's odyssey: earth and beyond Tragic sadness and captivating beauty Heartbreaking and moving family drama Show All…

Premiere

26 Jan 2016

USA Sundance Film Festival

04 Mar 2016

USA True/False Film Festival

15 Mar 2016

USA South by Southwest Film Festival

08 Apr 2016

USA Full Frame Documentary Film Festival

01 May 2016

USA San Francisco International Film Festival

01 Jun 2016

USA Seattle International Film Festival

28 Jul 2016

USA Traverse City Film Festival

Theatrical

09 Sep 2016

USANR

27 Jan 2017

UK15

UK

27 Jan 2017

Theatrical15

USA

26 Jan 2016

Premiere Sundance Film Festival

04 Mar 2016

Premiere True/False Film Festival

15 Mar 2016

Premiere South by Southwest Film Festival

08 Apr 2016

Premiere Full Frame Documentary Film Festival

01 May 2016

Premiere San Francisco International Film Festival

01 Jun 2016

Premiere Seattle International Film Festival

28 Jul 2016

Premiere Traverse City Film Festival

09 Sep 2016

TheatricalNR

102 mins More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

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Review by #1 gizmo fan ★★★★½ 1

I literally never wanted this to end. I can't express how interesting and personal this memoir documentary was. I loved this so so so much.
Review by Lucy ★★★★★

this is genuinely one of the most interesting and engulfing films i've ever seen
Review by matt lynch ★★★★ 1

"Maybe she should just help you cut the tree."
Quantum entanglement.
Review by SilentDawn ★★★★½

85
Still reeling from this so scattered thoughts will have to do for now:
- Kristen Johnson shows great empathy in her images at a base level. If all of the footage is seen as remnants of other projects and a culmination of a particular artistic work ethic, then the composition and immediacy of framing disregards the initial scrambled nature of the edit. Each shot is just another aspiration for capturing truth; look at the moment where Johnson's hands pull weeds out of a low-angle shot in order to make for a more aesthetically pleasing makeup.
- Of course, then this idea of a certain level of truth is combated by moments which confront our comfort in what we're seeing.…
Review by robert ★★★★½

me putting something on my snapchat story: Cameraperson (2016)
Review by Josh Larsen ★★★★ 3

Shake a bunch of “leftover” footage from a dozen documentaries onto one screen and what do you get? An intensely moving and provocatively personal consideration of what it means to carry a camera, especially in a world that has seen great suffering.
Full review here.
Review by Michael Sicinski ★★★★ 2

[8]
"The Laura Poitras / Dani Leventhal mash-up you didn't know you'd been waiting for," I called this on Twitter, only somewhat glibly. But the fact is, Cameraperson is a rare viewing experience. Not only does Kirsten Johnson bring together two forms of filmmaking (nonfiction advocacy cinema and poetic / associative diary) that typically have nothing to do with one another. She finds that the two modes can strengthen each other, making something vital and unique, rather than watering each other down into middlebrow pabulum.
As Johnson explains in her opening title, these are the fragments from her own work as a nonfiction cinematographer that have stayed with her. Cameraperson, then, is a compilation of puncta (to borrow Roland Barthes'…
Review by fran hoepfner ★★★★½ 1

when the baby breathe :')
Review by Graham ★★★★★

The thing they don't tell you when you're starting out as a cameraperson is the amount of time you will spend talking. Talking to subjects, their families, their friends. Talking about framing, equipment, the light, the weather, the day.
My wife is a wedding photographer and has been for many years. In the early days, I helped her out, providing very little technical knowledge but heaps of psychological support. I also became an expert bag-carrier and human-herder.
That's another thing they don't tell you when you start out. It's a really bloody tough gig, both mentally and physically. Yeah yeah, strutting around fancy locations taking pictures all day... how hard can it be? Well, I've watched as the sweat gathers,…
Review by Peter Labuza ★★★★½

Because of where our conversation ultimately took us with regards to my choices, I didn't spend as much time as I wanted to singing the praises of this beautiful piece of work on our Top 10 podcast.
One thing I would say, is that if I had to choose a recent film to show to visitors from outer space to teach us about humanity, I think I would send this. That might be an odd choice given how much of the film documents our hatred, bigortry, and penchance for the most henious and destructive of acts toward each other. But in a way, the film then finds hope, compassion, and understanding through the people Johnson interacts with and speaks with. It's telling that a sequence at an abortion clinic turned into an outtake, because Johnson could not hold herself back from telling an individual that they are essentially dignified as a person. This is a film brimming with hope.
Review by Sophy ★★★★★

Articulates the artificiality of documentary filmmaking while pinpointing the exact opposite; the profound truth that is hiding on the tips and tails of each shot left on the cutting room floor. An all timer.
Review by Wes ★★★★½

a pretty good case for making "a girl and her camera" the new "boy and his dog". besides being intimidatingly unflinching and brutal in emotion, the chaos is met with an always-present intimacy thats allowed between each subject and kirsten johnson that seemingly can only be achieved through the lens of a camera. i have an extremely poor memory 99% of the time, but i know a lot of this is sticking with me forever.

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