Sundance documentary ‘The Stringer’ questions who took AP ‘napalm girl’ photo

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — After a half-century of public silence, a freelance photographer from Vietnam says he took one of the most famous and shocking photographs of the 20th century: an image of a naked girl fleeing a napalm attack in Vietnam. of the South that has long been attributed to an Associated Press photographer.

Nguyen Thanh Nghe claimed responsibility for the Pulitzer Prize Photograph of the “napalm girl” in the new documentary “The Stringer” and on the sidelines of its premiere Saturday night at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

The AP conducted its own investigation and said it has no reason to conclude that anyone other than longtime credited photographer Nick Ut took the photo. The news agency said it was “surprised and disappointed” that the filmmakers portrayed her as if they had reviewed the film’s materials and were dismissive. The AP said it first saw the film at Sundance.

Nghe joined the filmmakers for the post-screening Q&A, where he said, through a translator, “I took the photo.” The audience applauded enthusiastically. He did not say why he waited so long to make the claim.

The AP said it was asking the filmmakers to release their collaborators from the film’s confidentiality agreements, including Nghe. He also asked the filmmakers to share a visual analysis they commissioned and the film itself. “We cannot state more clearly that The Associated Press is only interested in the facts and a true story of this iconic photograph,” the agency said.

Investigating an image captured in the fog of war

Nguyen says he took the iconic photo of Kim Phuc on June 8, 1972. Nghe said he went to Trang Bang City that day as an anchor for an NBC news team and captured the image of Phuc running down the street, crying. and naked. with arms extended. He said he sold his image to the AP for $20 and was given a copy of the photo, which his wife later destroyed.

AP representatives, who saw the film for the first time Saturday at the premiere, dispute the film’s implication that the company reviewed its findings and dismissed them.

“Just in December, we reiterated our request to see the filmmakers’ full materials and they did not respond, nor did they include AP’s full response in the film,” AP spokeswoman Lauren Easton said Sunday. “We were surprised and disappointed that the film featured the AP reviewing the film materials and dismissing the allegations, which is completely false.”

Research for the film was led by husband and wife team Gary Knight, founder of the VII Foundation, and producer Fiona Turner. Directed by Bao Nguyen, a Vietnamese-American filmmaker.

“I’m not a journalist by any means,” Nguyen said. “I had a healthy skepticism, as I think anyone would have, going against a truth from 53 years ago. …But as a storyteller and filmmaker, I thought it was my responsibility and my privilege to be able to elevate the story of people like Nghe.”

AP independently investigated

Before having seen the film, the AP made your own research for six months and concluded that he had “no reason to believe that anyone but Ut took the photo.” Now, the AP is asking the filmmakers to lift the confidentiality agreements they imposed on their subjects to allow the company to investigate further.

“AP stands ready to review any and all evidence and new information about this photo,” Easton said.

Knight and Turner met with the AP in London last June to discuss the allegations. According to the AP, the filmmakers asked the news organization to sign a confidentiality agreement before providing their evidence. AP wouldn’t do it. The film suggests that evidence was presented to the AP, which the AP says is not true.

A primary source in the film is Carl Robinson, then AP photo editor in Saigon, who had his decision not to use the image overruled by Horst Faas, AP photo chief in Saigon. Robinson says in the film that Faas ordered him to “make it personal” and give Ut credit for the photo. Both Faas and Yuichi “Jackson” Ishizaki, who developed the film, are dead. Robinson, 81, was fired by the AP in 1978.

On Saturday, a Sundance Institute moderator asked why he wanted to come forward with the allegations now. “I didn’t want to die before this story came out,” Robinson told the audience after the screening. “I wanted to find (Nghe) and apologize.”

A variety of witnesses interviewed by the AP, including big-name correspondents such as Fox Butterfield and Peter Arnett and the photo’s subject herself, Phuc, say they are certain Ut took the photo.

The documentary included forensic analysis of the scene.

Robinson was one of those people the AP tried to talk to during its investigation, but “we were told we could only do so under conditions” that they said would have prevented them from “taking quick action if necessary.”

Research for the film lasted more than two years. Journalists enlisted a French forensic team, INDEX, to help determine the likelihood that Ut would have been fit to take the photo. The forensic team concluded that it was highly unlikely that Ut could have done it.

Ut’s attorney, James Hornstein, said this Sunday after the premiere: “In due course, we will move to right this wrong in a court where Nick Ut’s reputation will be vindicated.”

Knight referenced the AP investigation Saturday and told the audience that the company’s statement is available online. “They said they are always open to examining the truth. And I think it was a very reasonable thing to do,” Knight said. “Our story is here and it is here for everyone to see.”

And he added: “Things happen on the field in the heat of the moment. … We are all stronger if we examine ourselves, ask tough questions, and be open and honest about what is happening in our profession. “Now more than ever, I would say.”

“The Stringer” has no distribution plans yet.

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