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Recorded Q&A
Mapplethorpe: Directors Q&AThe first definitive portrait of the controversial American photographer Robert Mapplethorpe since his death from AIDS in 1989.
Images credit: Mapplethorpe Foundation
“Sensationally provocative” – The Boston Herald
★★★★ “Beautiful and clear-eyed documentary” – BBC
The only thing more outrageous than Mapplethorpe’s photographs was his life, revealed here through intimate revelations from family, friends and lovers. Directors Barbato and Bailey use an extraordinary archive of images and documents to great effect, alongside a series of never before heard interviews with Mapplethorpe himself.
Completely candid and shockingly honest, he speaks about his life, loves and work. Seen through his eyes they were a seamless whole, a complete work of art. This is a film about a unique figure in the history of photography who turned the medium into contemporary fine art with a bold vision that ignited a culture war still raging to this day.