Director

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  Kirsten Johnson

  Deadline (2014) The joys of being a documentary cameraperson are endless and obvious: I get to share profound intimacy with the people I film, pursue remarkable stories, be at the center of events as they unfold, travel, collaborate, and see my work engage with the world. I experience physical freedom, the chance at artistic expression and discovery in each moment I hold a camera. No wonder I’ve been doing it for 25 years and love my life. And yet, the dilemmas I face while holding my camera are formidable. There are the concrete challenges I must face in the moment - how to frame, find focus, choose the direction to follow. The other troubles are implicit and often also unseen by the audiences of films I shoot: The people I film are in immediate and often desperate material need, but I offer little to nothing material. I can and will leave a place I film (a war, a refugee camp, etc.) when the people I film cannot. I traffic in hope without the ability to know what will happen in the future. I ask for trust, cooperation and permission without knowing where the filming experience will lead the subject. I alter the balance of power by my presence and act on behalf of one side or another in a conflict. My work requires trust, demands intimacy and entails total attention. To both me and the people I film, it often feels like a friendship or family, but it is something different. I know little about how the images I shoot will be used in the future and cannot control their distribution or use. My work can change the way my subject is perceived by the people who surround him/her and can impact reputation or safety for years into the future. I follow stories the director I work for does not need and/or want me to follow. I fail to see or follow stories the director I work for hopes I will follow.