The Stringer - Documentary Screening

A former Saigon photo editor plagued by a 52-year secret courageously makes a stunning admission, setting off a gripping two-year investigation into five decades of buried secrets behind one of the Vietnam War’s most iconic photographs. Acclaimed war photographer Gary Knight and journalists Fiona Turner, Terri Lichstein, and Lê Vân embark on a relentless search to locate and seek justice for a man known only as “the stringer.”

The work of photographers during the Vietnam War exposed the horrors committed against the civilian population to a Western audience largely unaware of the scale of the atrocities. The iconic photograph, The Terror of War, also known as Napalm Girl, was shocking in its depiction of the violence experienced by children, prompting global protests and calls to end the war. But a claim by a former Associated Press photo editor raises doubts over the image’s origins. Bao Nguyen’s film follows a relentless journey to find the truth, locating a photographer known only as ‘the stringer’ who claims he took the photo, throwing the AP photographer credit into question. In following this investigation Nguyen’s film tackles racial injustice and journalistic ethics as it questions why Vietnamese photographers’ essential contribution to this conflict have not found their place in history.

DIRECTOR
Bao Nguyen

PRODUCERS
Fiona Turner, Terri Lichstein

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS

Gary Knight, Sue Turley, Grace Lay, Michael Chow, Alex Cotraviwat, Kevin Lin, Nina and David Fialkow, Andrew Reid, Jeremy Gardner, Jeff Zimbalist, James Costa, Trevor Burgess

LINE PRODUCER
Jenni Trang Lê

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
Ava Romero

EDITOR
Graham Taylor

CINEMATOGRAPHERS
Andrew Yuti Truong, Bao Nguyen, Ray Lavers

REPORTED BY
Fiona Turner
Terri Lichstein
Lê Vân
and Gary Knight