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The Bang Bang Club

[2010]
Feature Narrative | 106 min | Special Screening

Photos & Video

Photos (6)
Videos (2) Trailer Bang Bang Club Red Carpet

Synopsis

The Bang Bang Club is the true story of four young combat photographers—Greg Marinovich, Joao Silva, Kevin Carter, and Ken Oosterbroek—bonded by friendship and their sense of purpose to tell the truth. In 1994, they risked their lives to tell the world of the brutality and violence associated with the first free elections in post-Apartheid South Africa, and exposed the plight of a nation to the international community through their courage under fire and Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalism. This intense period of civil war produced their best work but cost a heavy price, as the group's fearless dedication and willingness to push the limits of journalistic ethics brought about both their greatest professional achievements and also their most profound personal tragedies.

Based on the book The Bang-Bang Club: Snapshots from a Hidden War by Marinovich and Silva, this gripping film explores the thrills, danger, and moral ambiguity associated with representing war, and features stellar performances from Ryan Phillippe, Neels Van Jaarsveld, Frank Rautenbach, and Taylor Kitsch as the heroic young journalists who risk their lives for their cause and their craft.

--Cara Cusumano

About The Director

STEVEN SILVER began his career in the South African film industry before writing and co-producing Emmy award-winning documentary Gerrie & Louise. He went on to direct numerous documentaries, including The Last Just Man, which won more than 18 international awards. He also directed the Emmy-nominated The Diameter of a Bomb.

Director Statement

The Bang Bang Club is the story of four young photojournalists who brought the world some of the most extraordinary photographs. They did so at great risk to themselves and became famous for these violent and compelling images. I was fascinated by why they chose this work, and by how they dealt with the ongoing danger and difficulties of what they did. They faced tough questions like when should they put down their cameras to help and whether they were exploiting the people who they photographed. They were so young and how they contended with this kind of danger and context was interesting.

They were also very familiar to me. I lived through that period in South Africa. It was a heady and crazy time when the country stood on the brink of civil war. I was a little younger than the photographers but I was present at some of the events described in the book on which the film is based. So, this was a chance for me revisit what was an important period in my own life as well.

Film Contacts

Sales Contact
Richard Rapkowski
Entertainment One
Toronto, ON M4W3R8
Phone: 416.646.2400
Email: gmazzuca@entonegroup.com