Famed (and famously cantankerous) cinematographer and activist Haskell Wexler submits ungraciously to the shrewd documentary scrutiny of his photojournalist son.
![Tell Them Who You Are (image 1)](/assets/resized/sm/upload/fk/gk/rv/wr/tell-800-800-450-450-crop-fill.jpg?k=f4102d8fcd)
Screened as part of NZIFF 2005
Tell Them Who You Are 2004
“Master cinematographer and longtime activist Haskell Wexler has always had a reputation for being a pain in the ass. He’s won two Oscars in a dazzling career that includes Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, American Graffiti, and Bound for Glory. His Medium Cool, set during the violence of Chicago’s 1968 Democratic convention, is a counterculture classic. But behind the scenes in Hollywood, Wexler remains a moody, irascible character with a big attitude problem. He explains: ‘I don’t think there’s a movie I’ve worked on that I wasn’t sure I could direct better.’ He has met his match in his good-natured, gentle (but actually strong-as-steel) son, Mark S. Wexler, a photojournalist who spent 18 months training his camera on his father. The result: a compelling documentary… It’s an overview of a great artist’s life as well as the powerful story of a father and son struggling to connect.” — Patricia Bosworth, Vanity Fair
Actors Jane Fonda, Michael Douglas, Julia Roberts, Paul Newman and cinematographer Conrad Hall testify variously to Wexler Snr’s overbearing egotism and inspiring creativity.