Shoot the People review – A powerful portrait from a talented but controversial photographer | film

TThis is a documentary portrait of renowned British-Nigerian photographer, filmmaker and activist Misan Harriman, who campaigned on Gaza and Black Lives Matter, which was completed before a row in May over some of his social media posts. These appear to amplify anti-Zionist conspiracy theories about media coverage of the Golders Green attack, and inappropriately quote Susan Sontag’s comments about the Holocaust in relation to the electoral successes of the UK Reform Party. His supporters said the controversy amounted to a smear campaign, and if the film had been made later, Harriman may have wanted to respond to the criticism.

As it stands, Harriman emerges from this film as a gifted, self-taught photographer: eloquent, eloquent, and frank about his wealthy and privileged background, which allowed him to witness a certain kind of enacted British racism up close. He was living the good life in the financial world before his photo of an anti-racism demonstration went viral after it was retweeted by Martin Luther King III (son of Martin Luther King Jr.), one of the people interviewed here. Harriman’s new career was born. His short film The After, starring David Oyelowo, was nominated for an Oscar in 2024 and would have won, in my view, had Wes Anderson not been included, somewhat contrary to the spirit of the newcomer to the shorts category.

We see Harriman attending the Oscars, filming pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the streets outside – although it must be said that Harriman, like many talented and successful people, is not without vanity. We see him walking pensively in the fields near his house with his dog as he says in voiceover: “The trees don’t care about the Oscars, and neither do my dogs. They care what kind of person I am…” What, the dog and the trees? The film’s most poignant moment is Harriman’s powerful tribute to his inspirational figure, the anti-apartheid South African photographer Peter Magubane.