This marvellous documentary by Richard Parry, with whom I worked at Frontline News Television, now has a run at the ICA. But we are also showing it during Welcome Week, so you can check it out then too.
Here is what some news people said about it:
 
SHOOTING ROBERT KING – QUOTES/ REVIEWS
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, ʻShooting Robert
Kingʼ makes for compulsive viewing. The life of 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, ʻShooting Robert Kingʼ is also a moving story of love and redemption… Iʼve never seen
a better film about journalism and war.
Ron Haviv, War Photographer:
ʻShooting Robert Kingʼ 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… Shooting Robert King is Mesmerizing
in its intensity
The 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 Shooting Robert King. 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 Parrys 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, ʻShooting Robert Kingʼ forms an explosive
insight into war journalism and one of the most gripping narratives of the programme.
Anthony Loyd, War Reporter & Writer
The innocent, the naive, the kind, the clumsy – none of these people live long in war. Which makes Robert
King’s survival all the more surprising, and this film all the more remarkable. Listen carefully to the story of
this dirty faced angel from Tennessee. Then have him shot at dawn. The world is too ugly to allow such
honesty to live.
Christina Lamb, War Reporter & Writer
Following the progress of photographer Robert King from hapless wannabe to hardened hack, this gripping
chronicle of the wars of the last two decades manages to be funny, shocking and an uncomfortable insight into
the lives of war correspondents. I loved it!