Bearing Witness
Bearing Witness
NR | 28 April 2005 (USA)
Bearing Witness Trailers

Follow five women reporters and the challenges they face as they work in Iraq during the Second Gulf War. Molly Bingham is an experienced photographer who was held for several days at Abu Ghraib prison at the start of the war. Marie Colvin is a reporter who lost her eye to a grenade while working in Sri Lanka. Janine di Giovanni has to deal with the difficulties of becoming a mother and still working to fulfill her duties as a journalist. Mary Rogers is a camerawoman who continues to put herself in harm's way in an effort to get the proper footage to cover her stories.

Reviews
BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See
DipitySkillful an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.
Taraparain Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.
Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.
arleneeng Barbara Kopple has done a wonderful job of portraying the challenges correspondents and reporters face during war. We do not get to see something like this from the viewpoint of women very often -- this is a real treat. These five women offer an excellent opportunity for young women who are interested in these challenging careers. And she offered us insight into women in different aspects of journalism -- from photographer to writer, from video-graphic photographer to an American woman working for Al Jazeera. This documentary ranks with some of the best -- and documentaries just keep getting better and better. If you like this film, check out Point of View or Independent Lens on pubic television and look for the many documentary film festivals now offered.
fmg05 Saw this at Tribeca Film Fest last night. I was impressed with the filmmaker's efforts in telling the stories of these women journalists. She doesn't limit it to the current war they cover but includes flashbacks to horrific conflicts they covered. They all seem to be surviving, each admitting to the need to regroup every now and then. It reminded me of Shutterbabe, the memoir about a female war photographer with each section named after a man with whom she was involved with at that time. I wonder if such a book or film about male journalists would focus so much on the personal. A bit like Searching for Debra Winger as well.