Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Never Look Away Delivers Us to War's Front Lines With Fearless Photojournalist Margaret Moth

12/11/2024

(Robin Marshall/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)

By Patty Consolazio

If you've ever wondered what it would feel like to march fearlessly into the proverbial lion's den, Margaret Moth can show you the way. Never Look Away, which premiered January 18 in the World Documentary Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, offers a fly-on-the-wall view of the intrepid Moth as a CNN wartime photojournalist who stations herself squarely in the epicenter of life, love, and peril.

As a former actor in television's Xena: Warrior Princess now working behind the scenes, Lucy Lawless brings her directorial debut to this year's Festival, offering a glimpse into Moss' adult journey starting in Houston, Texas, 7,500 miles from her enigmatic childhood home in New Zealand. The free-spirited, pipe-smoking Moth spends her days living, tripping, and loving in hyperdrive - boring people need not apply.

Lawless was caught off guard by the request to film Moth's documentary. I got a kind of a cold call; an email from Joe Duran, who was in the film as Margaret's best friend and the heir to her estate, which was a suitcase of memories and a few treasures in there, and he said, Do you want to make a film about Margaret Moth?' Lawless recalls, in the post-premiere Q&A session.

Yes! I will find the money! I will get this movie made! I will find the producers! she exclaims. Then when I pushed send, I said, Oh my god, who am I to say this! I'm not qualified to make those promises. I've never done this before.' But I've been owned by Margaret ever since.

Candid, colorful interviews with friends, colleagues, siblings, and romantic interests shine a light on Moth beyond her lust for life and her bravado, painting a picture of a tender, sometimes insecure woman whose passion for filming the worst of humanity might be as much about stirring up outrage as it is about being in the action.

To Moth, the world needs to see her footage, lest we all go about our business and mocha lattes, oblivious to the atrocities being committed around the world. Rwanda. Kuwait. The West Bank. Bosnia and Herzegovina. Lebanon. Georgia. Saudi Arabia. Wherever she goes, she unflinchingly captures the violence and suffering inflicted on innocent civilians.

The indomitable Moth commands both ends of her camera with gusto. Here's a woman who smoked cigars with U.S. General Norman Schwarzkopf. Who also stood and filmed an active shooter while other crews hid behind cars, thus capturing the only footage of a massacre. Her colleagues know that when they can't find her, she's behind her camera, filming something big and often terrible.

And when everything changes for Moth in one fateful moment, she is left to reconsider her priorities and determine who she will be going forward.
LINK: https://www.sundance.org/blogs/never-look-away-delivers-us-to-wars-fro...
See more stories from sundance

More from Sundance Institute

28/11/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know 3 Indigenous Filmmakers With Shorts at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival

A still from Vea Mafile'o's Lea Tupu'anga / Mother Tongue, which s...

27/11/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez, the Co-Directors of Sujo

By Jessica Herndon One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Fest...

27/11/2024

Dinner and a Movie: Katie Arthurs on Top End Wedding and Breakfast Burritos

The author watching a film with her mother and brother....

27/11/2024

Inside the Archives: Showcasing Sundance Talent in Oz and the Colosseum

Denzel Washington at the Piper-Heidsieck Tribute press conference at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Sandria Miller...

23/11/2024

Heartwarming Out of My Mind Highlights the Importance of Disability Advocacy

PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 19: (L-R) Judith Light, Rosemarie Dewitt, Luke Kirby, Michael Chernus, Phoebe-Rae Taylor, Sharon M. Draper, Amber Sealey, and Courtney...

22/11/2024

Michelle Satter to Be Honored at 2025 Sundance Film Festival Gala Celebrating Sundance Institute Presented by Google TV

Sean Wang, Julian Brave NoiseCat, and Emily Kassie to Receive Annual Vanguard Aw...

20/11/2024

10 Films With Sundance Institute Ties Nominated for the 40th International Documentary Awards

From Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie's moving Sugarcane to Shiori It ...

20/11/2024

Dinner and a Movie: Ianeta Le'i on Stones and Kalua Pig

Stones courtesy of Ty Sanga. By Ianeta Le'i Food and film are two universal languages that connect us. They can draw upon long forgotten memories, take u...

18/11/2024

Porcelain War Stands at the Intersection of War, Beauty, and Resistance

(Photo by Suzanne Cordeiro/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival) By Patty Consolazio If you find it difficult on any level to justify Russia's war on U...

12/11/2024

Dinner and a Movie: Adam Piron on Fox Maxy's Gush and Frybread

by Adam Piron Food and film are two universal languages that connect us. They can draw upon long forgotten memories, take us to a place we've never been, a...

12/11/2024

Never Look Away Delivers Us to War's Front Lines With Fearless Photojournalist Margaret Moth

(Robin Marshall/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival) By Patty Consolazio I...

11/11/2024

Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin Balance Trauma and Humor in A Real Pain

PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 20: (L-R) Kieran Culkin and Jesse Eisenberg attend the 2024 Sundance Film Festival A Real Pain premiere at Eccles Theatre. (Photo by...

06/11/2024

Luther: Never Too Much Examines the Joys and Struggles of a Beloved Musical Icon

PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 21: Director Dawn Porter at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival Luther: Never Too Much premiere at Eccles Theatre on January 21, 2024, i...

06/11/2024

Agent of Happiness Spotlights a National Campaign and Sparks Self-Reflection

PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 19: (L-R) Suraj Bhattarai, Arun Bhattarai, Dorottya Zurb and M t Artur Vincze attend the 2024 Sundance Film Festival Agent of Happi...

04/11/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Jesse Eisenberg, the Writer-Director of A Real Pain

By Bailey Pennick One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festi...

02/11/2024

Release Rundown: What to Watch in November, From A Real Pain to Porcelain War

Writer-director Jesse Eisenberg (R) stars alongside Kieran Culkin in A Real Pain, winner of the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: U.S. Dramatic at the 2024 Sund...

30/10/2024

A Different Man, No Other Land, and More Sundance-Supported Films Secure Nominations for the 2024 Gotham Awards

The nominees for the 2024 Gotham Awards have been unveiled by the Gotham Film & ...

30/10/2024

2024 Sundance Institute | Sandbox Fund Projects Selected

15 Projects From 35 Filmmakers Will Benefit From Increased Granting in 2024...

30/10/2024

Hope for the Independent Documentary Ecosystem: How Artist Accelerator Envisions an Equitable Future

The Artist Accelerator team on day 3 of the Shangri La / Sundance / Building Bri...

29/10/2024

Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat: Political Machinations in the Congo

Writer-director Johan Grimonprez talks about his film Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat following its premiere January 22 at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. (P...

28/10/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Ian Bonhte and Peter Ettedgui, the Filmmakers Behind Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story

By Bailey Pennick One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festi...

25/10/2024

What to Watch: These 7 DFP-Supported Films From 2024 Will Inspire You to Organize for Change

It's easy to become overwhelmed when thinking about the current state of the...

25/10/2024

Fall in Love With Your Monster

PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 18: (L-R) Tommy Dewey, Melissa Barrera, Kayla Foster, Meghann Fahy, and Edmund Donovan attend the 2024 Sundance Film Festival Your Mo...

23/10/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Greg Jardin, the Writer-Director of It's What's Inside

By Lucy Spicer One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...

22/10/2024

Benjamin Ree's Ibelin Takes Viewers to a Different World and Moves Them to Tears

From L-R: Robert Steen, Trude Steen, Mia Steen and Benjamin Ree (Marc Sagliocco/...

21/10/2024

A Journalist Turns the Camera on Herself in Black Box Diaries

PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 20: Hanna Avqilin, Shiori Ito, and Ema Ryan Yamazaki attend the 2024 Sundance Film Festival Black Box Diaries premiere at Prospector...

18/10/2024

Union: Story of Amazon Labor Union Gives Hope to Ordinary Workers

Jordan Flowers, Derrick Palmer, Chris Smalls, and Gerald Bryson - all present or former employees of Amazon - express their solidarity at the premiere of Union...

18/10/2024

7 Uplifting Sundance-Supported Documentaries the DFP Team Recommends This Fall

By Jessica Herndon Life can be chaotic and rough, so when it's time to watch a film, we understand the urge to cue up a feel-good flick. Luckily, our Docum...

17/10/2024

Exhibiting Forgiveness: An Exercise in Healing, On and Off the Set

PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 20: (L-R) Jaime Ray Newman, Andr Holland, Andra Day, Titus Kaphar, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and John Earl Jelks attend the 2024 Sundance...

14/10/2024

Indigenous People Will Save the World: A Spotlight on Sundance Institute's Merata Mita Fellowship

Libby Hakaraia speaking at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Jovelle Tam...

12/10/2024

Saw, An Education, and More Celebrate Anniversaries in October

Jenny (Carey Mulligan) is torn between the life she'd planned and an intriguing older man in An Education. (Photo by Kerry Brown/Sony Pictures Classics)...

12/10/2024

Welcoming Our Trans Artists and Community to the 2025 Sundance Film Festival

Updated as of October 10 As we prepare for the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, our fundamental intention remains for all who attend the Sundance Film Festival to ...

10/10/2024

The Far-Reaching Effects of Colonization in Twice Colonized

PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 23: (L-R) Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, Mark Bukdahl, Lin Alluna, Iris Ng, Emile Hertling P ronard, Aaju Peter, Bob Moore, Stacey Aglok MacDo...

10/10/2024

2024 Sundance Institute Latine Fellowship & Collab Scholarship Artists Selected

Year-round Program Offers Pivotal Artist Support to Early Career Latine Artists PARK CITY, UTAH, October 10, 2024 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced...

09/10/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Christopher Jenkins, the Filmmaker Behind 10 Lives

By Lucy Spicer One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...

08/10/2024

The DFP Team Shares 18 Sundance-Supported Nonfiction Projects Not to Miss This Fall

By Jessica Herndon What does it take to move the needle through art? An origina...

07/10/2024

A Risky Cat Seeks Another Chance in 10 Lives

PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 20: Mo Gilligan, Chris Jenkins, and Simone Ashley at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival 10 Lives premiere at the Prospector Theatre on ...

05/10/2024

The Growing Family Album of the Documentary Film Program

By Kristin Feeley Chilean director Patricio Guzm n said, A country without documentary cinema is like a family without a photo album. We understand who we ar...

04/10/2024

Food and Country: When Farmers and Chefs Cry

Georgia farmers Will Harris and daughters Jenni Harris (right) and Jodi Harris (left) are featured in Food and Country, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance F...

03/10/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know 4 Latine Filmmakers With Shorts at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival

A still from Daniel Barosa's Boi de Conchas (The Shell Covered Ox), which ...

02/10/2024

Release Rundown: Your Monster, Union, and More Reach Wider Audiences This October

Aspiring actor Laura (Melissa Barrera) contends with a peculiar houseguest in wr...

02/10/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Nora Fingscheidt, the Writer-Director of The Outrun

By Bailey Pennick One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festi...

30/09/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Carla Gutirrez, the Director of FRIDA

By Lucy Spicer One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. Whi...

28/09/2024

Lakota Nation vs. United States and More Sundance-Supported Documentaries Take Home 2024 Emmys

For many September marks the end of summer or the start of school, but around he...

27/09/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Ramona Diaz, the Filmmaker Behind And So It Begins

By Jessica Herndon One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Fes...

27/09/2024

Film Festival Watch: Catch These 6 Sundance-Supported Films at the New York Film Festival

By Jessica Herndon This time of year, as leaves on the trees in Central Park ch...

25/09/2024

Inside the Archives: Creating Access to Celebrate Community

2024 Documentary Producers Lab fellows, creative advisors, and staff share a moment. Photo by Lance Roth...

24/09/2024

Soak Up the Last Days of Adolescence with My Old Ass

Aubrey Plaza getting ready for My Old Ass (photo by George Pimentel/Shutterstock for Sundance)...

23/09/2024

A Different Kind of Funny: An Interview With Carol Kane on Between the Temples

Carol Kane, Between the Temples (photo by Presley Ann/Shutterstock for Sundance) By Matthew Eng There's a scene early in Nathan Silver's Between the...