1. The Salt of the Earth (2014)
Directed by Wim Wenders and Juliano Ribeiro Salgado, this documentary chronicles the life and work of Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado, focusing on his photojournalism on human suffering and environmental issues.
2. Finding Vivian Maier (2013)
Directed by John Maloof and Charlie Siskel, this documentary uncovers the life of street photographer Vivian Maier, whose immense body of work was discovered after her death.
3. War Photographer (2001)
Directed by Christian Frei, this film follows James Nachtwey, a famous war photographer, as he documents the world’s most dangerous conflicts.
4. Bill Cunningham New York (2010)
Directed by Richard Press, this documentary focuses on the work and life of fashion photographer Bill Cunningham, known for capturing New York street fashion for The New York Times.
5. What Remains: The Life and Work of Sally Mann (2006)
Directed by Steven Cantor, this documentary provides a deep dive into Sally Mann’s career, known for her haunting and sometimes controversial photographic work.
6. Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens (2007)
Directed by Barbara Leibovitz, this film focuses on the renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz and her journey from shooting for Rolling Stone to becoming one of the most well-known portrait photographers.
7. Everybody Street (2013)
Directed by Cheryl Dunn, this documentary highlights New York City’s street photographers and their iconic images capturing the soul of the city.
8. The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography (2016)
Directed by Errol Morris, this film explores the life of Elsa Dorfman, best known for her large-format Polaroid portraits.
9. Through a Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People (2014)
Directed by Thomas Allen Harris, this documentary examines the history of African-American photography, presenting an alternative visual history created by black photographers.
10. Don’t Blink: Robert Frank (2015)
Directed by Laura Israel, this film focuses on the life of photographer and filmmaker Robert Frank, whose book The Americans provided a raw view of postwar American life.
Feature Films on Photography or Related Themes:
1. Blow-Up (1966)
Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, this thriller revolves around a fashion photographer in London who believes he has unwittingly photographed a murder.
2. Pecker (1998)
Directed by John Waters, this comedy follows an amateur photographer whose snapshots of his Baltimore neighborhood propel him into the world of high art.
3. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)
Directed by Ben Stiller, this film follows a Life magazine photo editor on an epic adventure to recover a missing photograph taken by a legendary photographer.
4. City of God (2002)
Directed by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, while this film is not strictly about photography, it features a young man who escapes the violence of Rio’s favelas through his talent as a photographer.
5. The Bang Bang Club (2010)
Directed by Steven Silver, this biographical drama tells the story of four photojournalists in South Africa documenting the final days of apartheid.
6. Kodachrome (2017)
Directed by Mark Raso, this drama focuses on a father-son road trip to the last Kodachrome processing lab, capturing themes of memory and the emotional power of photography.
7. Rear Window (1954)
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, this classic thriller centers on a photographer confined to his apartment who begins to suspect his neighbor of murder through his telephoto lens.
8. High Art (1998)
Directed by Lisa Cholodenko, this drama explores a relationship between a young editor and a talented but troubled photographer, delving into themes of art, addiction, and passion.
9. Minamata (2020)
Directed by Andrew Levitas, this drama stars Johnny Depp as photojournalist W. Eugene Smith, chronicling his documentation of the Minamata disease disaster in Japan in the 1970s. The film portrays Smith’s struggle to expose the corporate pollution that poisoned the residents of Minamata, bringing the power of photography in the fight for justice to the forefront.
10. Closer (2004)
Directed by Mike Nichols, this romantic drama, based on the play by Patrick Marber, features a prominent subplot involving photography. Natalie Portman’s character, Alice, is photographed by Julia Roberts’ character, Anna, in a pivotal scene that explores the themes of intimacy, identity, and the raw, sometimes intrusive nature of portrait photography.