Stephen Walton
If you want to get more immersed into the world of photography then spend some time in front of a bigger screen as we chat about our favourite 5 films about photography and photographers.
Despite the popularity of photography as a hobby and a profession, very little of it is depicted on the silver screen. We see films about sports, business, relationships, family, and work but not so much art.
Why is that? Does the film industry not find it interesting? Or is it just something non-photography folk will understand?
There are tonnes of amazing photographers to talk about so it’s not as if there’s a shortage of stories.
So with that in mind we’re picking out our favourite photography films for you to watch. We’ll give you a brief synopsis and give you an alert if there’s any spoilers.
A film adaptation of the book The Bang-Bang Club: Snapshots from a Hidden War co-written by Greg Marinovich and João Silva who were part of the group of four photographers known as Bang-Bang Club, the other two members being Kevin Carter and Ken Oosterbroek.
The photojournalists (played by Ryan Phillippe, Taylor Kitsch, Frank Rautenbach) put themselves in harms way as they photograph evidence of atrocities committed in the final days of South African apartheid.
Copyright Foundry Films (2010)
Featured on Netflix, Kodachrome depicts the story of a father and son trying to reconnect on a road trip to develop one of the last roles of Kodak film before processing stops forever.
Matt (played by Jason Sudekis), a struggling music A&R man, finds his world turned upside down when his estranged father’s nurse shows up unexpectedly in his office. Matt’s father (played by Ed Harris), a renowned photojournalist, is facing terminal cancer and his dying wish is for his son to join him on a road trip from to process his last rolls of Kodachrome film before the sole remaining lab closes and those captured moments are gone forever.
Copyright Gotham Group (2017)
Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece about a wheelchair-bound photographer who spies on his neighbours from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed a murder.
Rear Window is a story of a recuperating news photographer (played by James ‘Jimmy’ Stewart). While confined to a wheelchair after an accident, he spends his time watching the residents of his neighbouring apartments through a long lens and binoculars and becomes convinced that a murder has taken place.
Copyright Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions (1954)
Edward Furlong stars a Pecker, a young kid obsessed with taking pictures of anything and everything. It gives him a fast track to stardom and all the perils that come with fame.
A teenage boy (played by Edward Furlong), obsessed with photographing everything he sees around him, is spotted by a gallery owner from New York who views Pecker as fresh young talent worth entertaining. But as his fame grows, he finds himself less welcome in his home town and decides to turn the tables on the elitist art yuppies from the city.
Copyright Polar Entertainment (1998)
Robin Williams stars in this extremely dark psychological thriller about a photo technician in a supermarket who is consumed by the lives of one particular family.
Sy Parrish (played by Robin Williams) runs a one-hour photo developing lab in a small mall. He’s a perfectionist about his work and generous to his regular customers, the Yorkin family.
Over the years, he’s watched their family grow through their photographs, but when he sees evidence of the family’s father being unfaithful it tips his already precarious mental state over the edge.
Copyright Fox Searchlight Pictures (2002)
What is your favourite film about photography? Is it on our list or something different? Let me know and we’ll check it out.
Bookmark and save this article about the history of photography movements so you can find it again in the future. If you’ve got any other questions about photography chances are you’ll find the answers in our other articles and tutorials below.
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