This is terribly sad news. Tim Hetherington, the gifted British photojournalist who justly shared a Best Documentary Feature Oscar nomination with Sebastian Junger earlier this year for their joint debut “Restrepo,” has died on the front line in Misrata, Libya, where he was documenting the conflict. Also killed was his colleague, Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Chris Hondros.
I haven’t adequate words to respond to this. Hetherington, Hondros and his ilk are braver, better men than the rest of us: they risk their lives so that the rest of the world can see what would otherwise be unimaginable. “Restrepo,” which both Kris and I listed as one of 2010’s finest, is a vivid portrayal of combat unprecedented in its sensory immediacy, the result of many months spent embedded in a US Army unit in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley.
Hetherington broke his leg on the assignment; would that the injury remained the biggest misfortune of his career. (On the same assignment, he took the now-famous shot posted below, for which he won the World Press Photo of the Year award in 2007.)
I never had the pleasure of speaking to Hetherington myself, though I interviewed Junger on his own last year; he gave his collaborator the bulk of the credit for transforming 150 hours of on-the-fly footage into a viable, visceral feature film. If you haven’t seen “Restrepo” (reviewed here) yet, don’t make this your only excuse to catch up with it; we can only contemplate what Hetherington, still only 41 years of age, had yet to show us.
[Photo: Vanity Fair]
Comments
6 responses to “Tim Hetherington (1970-2011)”
A sad loss, indeed. I just can’t picture how intense his workfield must had been, but to go as far as he did in Restrepo, and with such quality of execution… he was really one of a kind.
Very sad and shocking news to hear.
Absolutely terrible loss. It’s a shame men like him have to die for the world to become aware of such monstrosities.
haven’t seen the film yet (goes on my list immediately) but i have nothing but respect for men and women like him. they do truly admirable work. it’s a great loss.
This is such a tragedy and a shock. I am really devastated. I admit that I haven’t seen Restrepo but now I must see it. So sad to see someone die trying to make film.
On another note, to the writers of InContention, Guy and Kris, could you please start doing more posts besides deaths? Seeing only posts about famous people passing is flat out depressing.
Very sad news. At least it’s a bit comforting that his work will not the world forget about him. I really recommend Restrepo to everybody who hasn’t seen it. RIP, Tim!
On the other hand, I really second Nelson’s post. Seeing only the posts about losing Elizabeth Taylor, Sidney Lumet and now Tim Hetherington is somehow depressing. And in less than 2 months after the Oscars the world of cinema lost two of its all time greatests, one of which happened to be the world’s biggest movie star as well as a young, very interesting documentarian. This is sad. I can’t find other words to express it.