Sundance Institute

Institute History

2025 Sundance Film Festival

Description

A two-year investigation uncovers a scandal behind the making of one of the most-recognized photographs of the 20th century. Five decades of secrets are unraveled in the search for justice for a man known only as “the stringer.”

An iconic image defines its time not only through the content of the image itself, but through the stories of its creation and dissemination across culture and around the world. The photograph at the heart of The Stringer embodies this process of enshrinement, but a shadowy, whispered history of the image has been out of frame till now. Director Bao Nguyen (The Greatest Night in Pop, 2024 Sundance Film Festival) follows a team of investigators seeking the photo’s true authorship. In doing so they revisit a painful, politically complex past and find people haunted by seemingly small acts that have echoed through the decades and forever changed lives. With surprising revelations and a determined spirit of veracity, The Stringer shows the irreducible power of truth and its demand to be known no matter the consequences.—Sudeep Sharma

This film contains mature content and may not be appropriate for all ages.

Available in person only.

Screenings include closed and open captions.

Screening Details

Section: Premieres
Film Type: U.S. Documentary Feature
Country: United States
Language: English, Vietnamese
Run Time: 100 min.

Credits

Composer
- Gene Back
Executive Producer
Sound Designer
- Tim Harrison
Cinematographer
- Ray Lavers
- Andrew Yuyi Truong
Line Producer
- Jenni Trang Le
Colorist
- Tam Le
Producer
- Terri Lichstein
- Fiona Turner
Director
- Bao Nguyen
Associate Producer
- Ava Romero
Editor
- Graham Taylor

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