I was saddened today to learn Oscar nominee Tim Hetherington, the British DP, photographer and co-director of last year’s Oscar-nominated documentary, Restrepo, was killed while filming in Libya earlier today.
One of my first pieces here at Rope of Silicon caused a bit of a sensation when I questioned whether viewers of Restrepo really understood the meaning behind the film. But I never question Hetherington’s fine work. He was a photographer who went into the danger zone so viewers here in the US and around the world could see what was really going on in the world. That’s what he was doing when he was killed in Misurata, the rebel held Libyan town that has been shelled for days by Muammar Gaddafi’s troops.
When it comes to the work Hetherington leaves behind, I’d say Restrepo was just the tip of the iceberg. His best film, in my opinion, was The Devil Came on Horseback, the Ricki Stern/Anne Sunberg directed film about Darfur that should have been nominated in 2007. His cinematography depicting the broken landscape of the Darfur region of Sudan is breathtaking. The Devil Came On Horseback exposes the plight of the people in Sudan in such an authentic way it was hard not to want to go out and do something about it. He got that job because of another fine film he did called Liberia: An Uncivil War. If you’re a fan of docs, I highly recommend both.
Hetherington was one of the greats because he had the ability to get close to the action without being intrusive. When the bullets start flying in Restrepo you feel them whiz right by your head. And when the crucial mission goes south and young men start dying; you’re right there with the soldiers. You ache with them in their time of hurt and confusion. It takes more than a great DP to film something like that. It takes real courage and dedication. Hetherington had those qualities in spades.
Rest in peace, Tim. The world is a lesser place without you.
