Documentaries

Alfre Woodard narrates this fascinating portrait of an artist who knew no boundaries -- especially when it came to his work. Known mostly for his cinematic opus Shaft (1971), Gordon Parks was also an accomplished photojournalist who documented the struggles of the South's Civil Rights movement for Life magazine and captured the glamour of Paris fashion for Vogue. Featured interviews include anecdotes from Russell Simmons and Gloria Vanderbilt.

This Oscar-winning documentary is a portrait of several unforgettable children who live in Calcutta's red-light district, where their mothers work as prostitutes. Spurred by the kids' fascination with her camera, Zana Briski, a photographer documenting life in the brothels, decides to teach them photography. As they begin to look at and record their world through new eyes, the kids awaken to their own talents and sense of worth.

The son of a Russian-Jewish immigrant, Richard Avedon became one of the most famous photographers in the worlds of fashion and celebrity. Beginning with his work in the postwar Paris fashion scene, the documentary follows Avedon's 50-year career photographing both the famous and the not so famous. Avedon himself provides commentary on his signature black-and-white style in this documentary created for the "American Masters" series.

As a photographer for Rolling Stone Magazine, Annie Leibovitz had a chance to develop the chops which have made her one of the highest-profile photographers. This biographical documentary traces this development through her years at Rolling Stone, her life on tour with The Rolling Stones and subsequent drug habit, on to her renewed career with Vanity Fair magazine, which finally established her as one of America's greatest photographers.

Often letting the work speak for itself, this compelling documentary looks into the lives of veteran National Geographic photographers and the grueling work that goes into their award-winning shots. The photographers provide detailed accounts of their preparation, the dangers they've encountered and the physical trials they've endured. A bonus section focuses on the African travels of wildlife filmmakers Dereck and Beverly Joubert.

Made the year of its subject's death, this film reveals the life and work of Diane Arbus, a woman whose struggles with mental illness gave her an empathetic eye with which to capture society's outsiders. Using Arbus's own words as well as interviews with family, friends and colleagues, this documentary provides a rare look at one of America's most acclaimed -- and controversial -- photographers.

In this engrossing, Academy Award-nominated documentary, director Christian Frei follows photojournalist James Nachtwey into the world's combat zones as he fights to capture the struggles of those who face harrowing violence in places such as Kosovo, Indonesia and the West Bank. Nachtwey skirts through murky politics to tell the stories of the suffering in hopes that he can bring attention to their plight, one picture at a time.

This pseudo-documentary gives a look into the illustrious career of W. Eugene Smith--one of America's most important and acclaimed photojournalists. A collage of interviews, newsreel footage, music, and reenactments (with Peter Reigert portraying Smith on photo shoots and in his New York City loft) give an informative and entertaining glimpse into the photographer's world.

Exploring the life and work of influential French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, this captivating documentary tells the story of a camera-shy photographer whose vision quietly shaped the emerging field of photojournalism. Focusing primarily on the artist's career from the 1940s to the '60s, the film features memorable images of Marilyn Monroe, Henri Matisse, the liberation of Paris and the death of Gandhi.