A revealing portrait of Jane Bown, the self-effacing but acclaimed portrait photographer, emerges through conversation, anecdote and candid reflection in this new documentary from Michael Whyte and Irish filmmaker Luke Dodd.
In the almost six decades that Bown worked for The Observer, she became renowned for insightful, highly individualistic portraits of the famous. Some of these portraits are now regarded as classics of the genre - Samuel Beckett, Queen Elizabeth II, The Beatles, Bertrand Russell, Mick Jagger and Margaret Thatcher.
The film grew out of a 2005 interview conducted with Bown as she was coming to the end of her working life and beginning to contemplate what it would be like when she was no longer able to take photographs. For the first time, she spoke candidly about her career and revealed how her very personal approach to the taking of portraits is informed by a deep sense of loss and abandonment. This private portrait is enhanced by a series of insightful interviews with Jane’s peers, family, colleagues, friends, and of course some of her subjects.
David Mullane
Jameson Dublin International Film Festival
