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John Berger: The Art of Looking

Film exploring the life and work of the late writer and art critic John Berger. The film is an intimate portrait of a man who has shaped our understanding of the concept of seeing.

Art, politics and motorcycles - on the occasion of his 90th birthday, this is an intimate portrait of the late writer and art critic whose groundbreaking work on seeing has shaped our understanding of the concept for over five decades. The film explores how paintings become narratives and stories turn into images, and rarely does anybody demonstrate this as poignantly as Berger.

Berger lived and worked for decades in a small mountain village in the French Alps, where the nearness to nature, the world of the peasants and his motorcycle, which for him deals so much with presence, inspired his drawing and writing.

The film introduces Berger's art of looking with theatre wizard Simon McBurney, film director Michael Dibb, visual artist John Christie, cartoonist Sel莽uk Demiral and photographer Jean Mohr, as well as two of his children - film critic Katya Berger and painter Yves Berger.

The prelude and starting point is Berger's mind-boggling experience of restored vision following a successful cataract removal surgery. There, in the cusp of his clouding eyesight, Berger re-discovers the irredeemable wonder of seeing.

Realised as a portrait in works and collaborations, this creative documentary takes a different approach to biography, with Berger leading in his favourite role of the storyteller.

54 minutes

Last on

Mon 10 Jan 2022 23:20

Credits

Role Contributor
Writer Cordelia Dvor谩k
Director of photography Piotr Rosolowski
Editor Alfredo Castro
Producer Heino Deckert
Producer Daniel Saltzwedel
Participant John Berger
Participant Simon McBurney
Participant Mike Dibb
Participant John Christie
Participant Sel莽uk Demiral
Participant Jean Mohr
Participant Katya Berger
Participant Yves Berger

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