Blood Trail

15 years in the life of war photographer Robert King


Showing at


Toronto 2008


Brit Doc 2008


Sheffield 2008


Frontline Films
 Film and documentary
 from the Frontline Club
 www.frontlineclub.com

Nick Broomfield, Film-maker:
Completely blown away by it. It's beautifully put together, and by far the best war doc I have seen ... It's beautifully constructed with the reveal of his wife and son at the end, and his development as a character works so well. I dread to think of the work and time that went into it but it is a brilliant film...


Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker Magazine writer, Author:
Stylishly filmed, laced through with humor, some horror, and the ever-present whiff of despair, Blood Trail makes for compulsive viewing. The life of Robert King is, in the end, an Everyman's life, lived out against some of the largest and most incomprehensible sadnesses of our time, and that, somehow, is also deeply entertaining.


Peter Bergen, Chief CNN Terrorist Analyst, Author:
Darkly comic, as if "Scoop" was reimagined for the 21st century as a gonzo acid trip through some of the most hellish wars in memory, Blood Trail is also a moving story of love and redemption... I've never seen a better film about journalism and war.


Ron Haviv, War Photographer:
Blood Trail takes us into places most people don't know exist and puts a face on those who risk it all to tell the world. The story of Robert King is the story of all journalists struggling throughout their lives to survive and make a difference.


Richard Watson, BBC Newsnight Correspondant:
Following the American photographer Robert King over a full fifteen years produces an extraordinary portrait of an appealingly flawed man, and it is this intensely personal journey which yields the film's true riches: its powerful, rolling themes of self-hate, the search for meaning, and love... Blood Trail is Mesmerizing in its intensity.


Hollywood Reporter:
Richard Parry's documentary provides an intriguing glimpse into the driving forces that have King and his ilk coming back for more despite the inherent dangers... Effectively bridging the intervening years with present-day footage of King, Parry's film exposes some of the darker impulses that keep King and company clicking.


Toronto International Film Festival:
Though war photographers have often been captured onscreen, no film has followed a career trajectory as closely as Blood Trail. Director Richard Parry has been intermittently checking in with photographer Robert King, from his start in Bosnia to his breakthrough work in Chechnya to his struggles embedding in Iraq. His portrayal of King's personal and professional growth is reminiscent of Michael Apted's Up series - only under fire.


Sheffield Documentary festival:
Fifteen years in the making with eight colleagues lost in the process, Richard Parry's incredible journey with King starts with him as a twenty-four year old graduate and chronicles harrowing daily battles with the outside world and within himself... Intertwined with personal existential questions, 'Blood Trail' forms an explosive insight into war journalism and one of the most gripping narratives of the programme.



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