New doc shows a long career in both art and activism
The life of a photographer is a lonely and often thankless one. Years can be spent traveling the globe, capturing decisive moments, and recording history with little to no recognition by the larger culture. For decades, Burk Uzzle has been doing this good work, and now with the new documentary F/11 and Be There, his legacy has been recorded for future generations.
After being hired by Life magazine as the youngest staff photographer in its history, Uzzle has spent the years since creating iconic images and never shying away from hard issues like racial and social justice.
This film came to be almost by happenstance. Like subject of the movie, producer David Raymond resides in North Carolina, and the two just happened to attend the same dinner party one fateful night. After an evening of hearing the amazing stories Uzzle has at his disposal, Raymond knew a documentary needed to be shot.
His first call was to director Jethro Waters, and from there it was a matter of ingratiating themselves in both Uzzle’s past work as well as current non-stop schedule. The result is a film that is able to tell a story that’s both compelling and beautiful.
A son of the south, Uzzle found himself on the outside of racial attitudes of that time and place. In fact, he recounts an amazing story from years later when he was covering a Klan cross burning and turned out to have gone to school with one of the participants, a moment fraught with tension and menace.
At the same time, his broad and open-minded worldview allowed him to go back and forth between the land of his upbringing and places like New York City and locales all around the world.
Today, Uzzle finds himself at the height of his game, and he puts these skills to work on projects he cares deeply about. After receiving a museum commission, he goes about capturing African-Americans around North Carolina, making regular folk look like works of art when placed on a gallery wall.
Besides getting out of the way and letting Uzzle wow the audience with his wit, candor, and empathy, the best thing Waters and crew did was make sure their aesthetic matched the quality of the myriad photos that are shown during the doc. The lighting, camera work, and overall look of the film are stunning.
With its behind-the-scenes look at one of America’s best photographic practitioners and its depiction of a man with the soul of a true artist, F/11 and Be There should be required viewing for aspiring artists everywhere. In a world filled with darkness, this film shines a little light.
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