There were more laughs than tears as family, friends and colleagues gathered to remember photojournalist and filmmaker Tim Hetherington at the Frontline Club on Wednesday 23 April.

Tim Hetherington’s mother, Judith Hetherington, was one of the people who spoke at the event.

The open discussion, Still Kicking – Tim Hetherington, Three Years On, included stories from Hetherington’s life and the influence he continues to have.

Hetherington – whose list of works includes the Oscar-nominated documentary Restrepo – was killed by shrapnel from a mortar shell on 20 April 2011 while covering the Libyan civil war.

“The influence of Tim’s work is undoubtedly too early to judge, but there’s no doubt Tim’s arrow fell too soon,” said Hetherington’s father Alistair Hetherington, reading a letter written for the event by Art Blundell, who worked with Tim as a UN investigator.

Between the anecdotes and stories, the night was broken up by clips from films that Hetherington worked on and influenced.

James Brabazon, who was Hetherington’s friend and collaborator, produced the film Which Way is the Front Line From Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington. Speaking at the event, he said:

“There were some things that Tim failed at, and they were glorious, spectacular failures – and we’re all very glad he failed, because after them came truly stunning success.”

The audience laughed when Brabazon mentioned a project Hetherington worked on, to produce a Braille photography book, and another about a narrative feature science fiction film to be set during the war in Afghanistan.

“I think one of the dangers of making films like Which Way is the Front Line From Here? is that in retrospect, someone’s career looks like an inexorable victory march. It looks like every success inevitably follows on from the last success, and you forget actually that that process of creating great, permanent and enduring work, in there, things don’t work out.”

Hetherington’s partner, Idil Ibrahim, spoke to the audience via Skype. She said that when she would often spend time organising and structuring how to potentially execute projects, Hetherington often told her to just get out there and do it.

https://twitter.com/I_Am_Idil/status/459043164699897856

“One of the key takeaways that he’s kind of left with me in terms of inspiring me and moving forward, is that now instead of saying ‘Why?’ I usually just say ‘Why not?’” she said. “And through the last three years, the journey that I’ve been on, you know, has kind of always started with that question, ‘Why not?’”

Judith Hetherington, Tim’s mother, also spoke at the event. She said not an hour goes by without her thinking of her son. She noted that she has been navigating his business since he died, and she has learned a lot about him through it.

“In honour and in developing Tim’s legacy, we – Alistair and I – have been to many parts of the world, parts that we would not probably have gone to,” she said. “That’s enabled an enormous picture of Tim to open up to us, and we’ve seen a world, a perspective of life I think through Tim’s eyes, and that’s been extremely valuable, and it’s all going to live with me.”

In an interview after the event, Judith Hetherington said she thought it was a thought-provoking evening.

“I hope people have gone away thinking how they can be inspired by Tim’s work,” she said.

Donations can be made to the Tim Hetherington Trust through their website.

You can listen or watch the event here:

This year for the first time, the Hetherington family is inviting all Tim’s friends and colleagues to share their reflections on the anniversary of Tim’s death. It will be a free flowing discussion about Tim’s influence and continuing inspiration, including a sneak peek of Sebastian Junger‘s forthcoming film sparked by a conversation with Tim, a creative moment that is actually captured on film.

We’ll get an inside view of the Bronx Documentary Center founded by New York photographer Mike Kamber, fulfilling Tim’s vision for photography in the community. Judith Hetherington will talk about some of the things she’s learned about her son in the last three years and Stephen Mayes will discuss the ambitions of the Tim Hetherington Trust, including announcements about imminent activities in 2014.

We will also hear from close friends and colleagues Piers Dunn and James Brabazon who will talk about some of Tim’s less familiar attributes and Art Blundell, a fellow UN investigator, will talk about the meaning of Telemachus, Tim’s lesser-known middle name.

We’ll also hear from Christina Piaia, Chris Hondros’ fiancé, about his new book launching this month and other activities of the Chris Hondros Fund.

Please come, listen, talk and be inspired.

The event is free to attend, however, should you wish to make a donation to the Tim Hetherington Trust, please click here for further information.

On 20 April 2011, photographer and filmmaker Tim Hetherington was killed by mortar fire in the city of Misrata, Libya. He bled out in the back of a pick-up truck on his way to the hospital.

In his work Hetherington focused on the experience of war from the perspective of the individual. Through his photographs, writing and films, he offered new ways to think about human suffering as a result of war. He captured the perspective of the soldiers and the civilians, caught up in the many conflicts he reported. The work he did throughout his ten-year career has established him as one of the most important photojournalists of his generation.

Colleague and co-director of the Academy Award-nominated documentary Restrepo, Sebastian Junger thoughtfully portrays Hetherington’s life and work. At a time when greater numbers of journalists are losing their lives covering conflict, the film also addresses the high risks taken by war journalists.

Directed by Sebastian Junger
Produced by James Brabazon
Duration: 79′
Year: 2013

Between the Lines was a three-day festival that took place at Rich Mix from 1 to 3 March. In a series of follow up events we continue to explore the challenges facing documentary makers, investigative journalists and citizen reporters in the new media landscape.

Presented by:

Supported by:

On 20 April 2011, photographer and filmmaker Tim Hetherington was killed by mortar fire in the city of Misrata, Libya. He bled out in the back of a pick-up truck on his way to the hospital.

In his work Hetherington focused on the experience of war from the perspective of the individual. Through his photographs, writing and films, he offered new ways to think about human suffering as a result of war. He captured the perspective of the soldiers and the civilians, caught up in the many conflicts he reported. The work he did throughout his ten-year career has established him as one of the most important photojournalists of his generation.

Colleague and co-director of the Academy Award-nominated documentary Restrepo, Sebastian Junger thoughtfully portrays Hetherington’s life and work. At a time when greater numbers of journalists are losing their lives covering conflict, the film also addresses the high risks taken by war journalists.

Directed by Sebastian Junger
Produced by James Brabazon
Duration: 79′
Year: 2013

In the most dangerous place in Afghanistan, the violently contested Korengal Valley, a platoon of fifteen American soldiers fight a seemingly endless war against an Al-Qaeda stronghold. Told through the voices of the soldiers themselves, Restrepo takes the viewer on a harrowing journey through the lives of the men serving abroad without the interjection of the vox populi usually heard on the news.

The platoon, named after a medic who was killed during an insurgence, explore the remote countryside of their post in attempts to win the hearts and minds of the valley’s native Afghan people. At every step, however, the threat of bombs and snipers looms as the soldiers try to push forwards into no-mans land. A personal story of loss, tactic, isolation, and the human cost of war, the film explores one of the most hotly debated and discussed military actions in the past decade.

On April 20, 2011 while covering the conflict in Libya, Tim Hetherington was killed by Libyan forces in a mortar attack on the besieged city of Misrata.

Directed by Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger
Duration: 93 mins
Year: 2010

2011 Oscar Nominated
2010 Winner Grand Jury Prize Documentary Sundance

A huge congratulations from the Frontline Club to member Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger for their incredible success at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Their documentary Restrepo won the Grand Jury Prize in the U.S. Documentary Comptetition.

Restrepo is an incredible documentary that chronicles the deployment of a platoon of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley – considered one of the most dangerous postings of the war. The film puts politics aside to get to the heart of the experience these soldiers face over the course of a year.

This year’s judges for the Grand Jury U.S. Documentary Comptetition were filmmakers Greg Barker, Dayna Goldfine, Morgan Spurlock, Ondi Timoner and Wired senior editor Nancy Miller.

Restrepo wasn’t the only film with a British director to do well at Sundance, Enemies of the People by Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath won the Special Jury Prize in the World Cinema Documentary Competition and Lucy Walker’s win for Wasteland added to her incredible achievement of having two documentaries at the festival, the other being Countdown to Zero.

My review of Restrepo for The Documentary Blog and Sundance coverage can be found here.

I also want to add a congratulations to the filmmakers of films shown at the club nominated for this year’s Oscars. China’s Unnatural Disaster: the Tears of Sichuan Province has been nominated in the Documentary Short category. Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill kindly came and gave a wonderful Q&A a few weeks ago and we wish them the best of luck on March 7th.

Burma VJ and The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers are both nominated in the Documentary Feature category, congratulations to filmmakers Anders Østergaard, Lise Lense-Møller, Judith Elrlich and Rick Goldsmith.

 For more information about Restrepo, the website is here.

Full List of Awards in the Sundance Documentary Competitions:

U.S. Documentary Competition

Grand Jury Prize  – Restrepo
Directed by Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington

Special Jury Prize – Gasland
Directed by Josh Fox

Directing Award – Leon Gast for Smash his Camera

Cinematography Award – Laura Poitras and Kirsten Johnson for The Oath

Editing Award – Penelope Falk for Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work

Audience Award – Waiting for Superman
Directed by Davis Guggenheim

World Cinema Documentary Competition

Grand Jury Prize – The Red Chapel
Directed by Mads Brügger

Special Jury Prize – Enemies of the People
Directed by Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath

Directing Award – Christian Frei for Space Tourists

Cinematography Award – Kate McCullough and Michael Lavelle for His & Hers

Editing Award – Joëlle Alexis for A Film Unfinished

Audience Award – Wasteland
Directed by Lucy Walker