BLK Docs: THE PICTURE TAKER trailer
On April 22, 2023, as part of our BLK Docs program, The Luminal Theater presents a special film screening of THE PICTURE TAKER, Phil Bertelsen's critically-acclaimed documentary on Civil Rights Movement photographer & FBI Informant Ernest Withers. It will be held at the Cecil Williams South Carolina Civil Rights Museum in Orangeburg, SC
Following the screening, there will be a special discussion with local legend, venue host and acclaimed Civil Rights Movement photographer Cecil Williams.
THE PICTURE TAKER
Directed by Phil Bertelsen
2022/USA/86 min.
The vibrant life of Ernest Withers was anything but black and white. Soldier, policeman, family man, and paid FBI informant—an unlikely resume for an African American photographer in 1960s Memphis, but complex times spawn complicated stories. Withers developed over a million images that came to define America’s civil rights struggle. His lesser known work: decades of secret FBI service uncovered only after his death. From the flashpoint of an American saga, “The Picture Taker” is a tale from in front of, and behind the camera.
The Picture Taker is a co-production of Picture Taker, LLC, Realization Pictures, ITVS, and Black Public Media with funding provided by the CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING (CPB), in association with K2 Pictures and Ark Media. Additional funding provided by: Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, JustFilms | Ford Foundation, John and Maryellen Riley, The Philadelphia Foundation, The Better Angels Society.