Tim Hetherington 'admirable' says fellow film-maker
Janus Metz (r) says Hetherington (l) was an "intelligent guy with huge integrity"Tim Hetherington, the British photographer killed while covering the conflict in Libya, was the co-director of Restrepo, an Oscar-nominated film about US soldiers serving in Afghanistan.
Danish director Janus Metz, whose own film Armadillo followed Danish soldiers fighting in southern Afghanistan, shares his memories of Hetherington and experiences of film-making in a war zone.
My first reaction on hearing of Tim's death was one of shock.
I met Tim last spring and we had a long talk about our respective films. I took a big liking to him and we were supposed to meet up when I was back in New York.
I was shocked to hear the news, but I was also thinking "Wow, it could have been me". When you're trying to report from a war zone you put yourself in situations where your life is in risk.
Tim made it his career to become a war reporter. I think he saw it as a mission to bring home stories and images from these places for everyone to relate to.
Armadillo followed a group of Danish soldiers serving in Afghanistan in 2009In terms of putting myself in danger, I've only done Armadillo and I have certainly had enough from doing that. I don't have a need to go back.
I had a strong feeling coming back from Afghanistan that we were lucky to pull it off and I didn't feel like testing my luck again.
But there was obviously a pull towards the excitement and the intensity of doing it before we went. The feeling of being alive and doing something important at the same time is quite strong when you're working in war zones.
I think my family and girlfriend know me enough that it doesn't really make sense to try and stop me. When I put my head towards something I do it.
I've travelled to lots of dangerous places and it makes them really nervous every single time.
I think the toll it takes on the people back home is very big. You don't always realise what it does to the people who care for you; in that sense it can be slightly egoistic.
No comments:
Post a Comment