McCULLIN

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

I worked as an assistant to Don McCullin, and he agreed to me making a film about his life.

He’d always said that he wished people could hear his pictures. I wanted to try and meet that challenge and make a documentary, not just about photographs taken by one of the world's most acclaimed photographers, but tell the story of his emotional journey behind the camera’s lens. As someone who has known Don for many years, I know that behind each picture is a story; many, a nightmare. Even though some in the latter category are over fifty years old, he says "they come back on a regular basis, as fresh as it was happening today, as if to haunt me."

I took a conscience decision to mirror Don's working methods in documenting his story. He is a private man who always worked alone. I didn't want to overpower the situation by bringing a large crew, so I decided to pare it down to just myself, a cameraman and sound recordist. And because Don’s photographs were taken on film, we decided against digital, in favour of 16mm and, like him, only use natural light.

But what I hadn’t realised was that the interviews were the easy part; we had an embarrassment of riches to hone; discarding gems for the sake of the film’s focus and the clarity of its message. And, of course, researching and sourcing archive was an immense task. I knew there couldn’t be any short cuts. We had to get this right to do justice to Don's story.

When I started this film no-one could have known the Arab Spring was around the corner, or that the tragic deaths of Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik would become sobering reminders of the risks combat journalists take every day. I hope that, even though Don's days of recording wars are behind him, this film inspires the next generation of photographers to go about their work with the same integrity Don is known for. The new generation’s job is as important now as it was when Don was working. As Paul Conroy said when he escaped Homs "It's a massacre and it's horrifying to think that once the cameras are gone, as they are now, God knows what's happening".

I hope that through my film a new generation hears Don McCullin's pictures - the stories behind them and of Don himself. He sometimes says that he isn’t sure his work made any difference to the world. I beg to differ, and hope I’ve gone some way to prove it. Ultimately it’s a film about courage, passion and belief. I think Don’s story is an inspiration to anyone who wants to lead a decent life, involve themselves in their own society’s injustices and all the forms that takes.

Jacqui Morris 2013

Don't miss this fine film – Philip French, Observer.

BAFTA Film Award Nominee for McCullin, Best Documentary Film 2013

BAFTA Film Award Nominee for McCullin, Outstanding Debut 2013