'Cameraperson' is a memoir of a documentary cinematographer

'Cameraperson' is a collage of clips and outtakes from Kirsten Johnson’s long career as a documentary cinematographer. 

'Cameraperson' is directed by Kirsten Johnson (r.).

Janus Films/AP

September 9, 2016

“Cameraperson” at first resembles a ragtag collage of clips and outtakes from Kirsten Johnson’s long career as a documentary cinematographer. For more than two decades, she filmed in many of the major hot spots, including Darfur, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Nigeria, and this film, which she directed, is a kind of cinematic memoir of the images and incidents that have stayed with her. 

The linkages between these mostly brief snippets is somewhat haphazard, but, given the waywardness of her travels, that’s appropriate. She also periodically includes footage of her mother, who was diagnosed with dementia, and her young, rollicky children, who, counterbalanced by shots of so much global grief and hardship, resemble babes in the woods. Grade: B (Unrated.)