The Canadian premiere of “Never Look Away” will be at Hot Docs showing on 27/30April2024 and 4May2024.
Margaret Moth was a fearless almost Gothlike camera woman hailing from New Zealand as is director Lucy Lawless with her directorial debut. You may ask when viewing the film if she was addicted to the danger of operating a camera on battle grounds. There are countless examples of her camerawork that portrayed the ragged bloodbath of armed combat some of it so graphic you would never see it on CNN the network Moth operated her camera for. When others were ducking for cover Moth was in plain sight filming. One might say with Moth behind the camera you feel the violence of armed struggle.
What propelled Moth’s passion for danger is never clearly laid out but who knows why she was so driven. Her early years were not pleasant. Given her narcotic consumption and somewhat wild lifestyle perhaps the camera was just another high for her.
Her story is told by family members, boyfriends, war correspondents, network executives, the esteemed Christiane Amanpour and her camera footage. It is a remarkable story difficult to summarize in a film review best deferred to you watching the footage she shot.
Although possessing a “tough nut” personality she had a special bond with children. While in Baghdad filming and yakking with children a high-ranking general charged into the crowd shooing away the children and Moth slapped him saying, “Don’t you ever do that again!”
For those following the recent Gaza conflict Moth years before that was shot in the foot as Israeli IDF shot at a clearly marked media vehicle she was in at close range and then she covered a UN base in Lebanon that was shelled by the IDF killing over 200 people including U.N. soldiers. Somewhat familiar?
Moth was in the midst of many a conflict including Sarajevo, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Iraq, Iran, Rwanda, Zaire, Lebanon, Gaza and Georgia. It was in Sniper Alley in Sarajevo where a Serbian sniper fired a bullet that hit her in the face and her life was in peril. Despite some 25 surgeries, the loss of some of her tongue which impaired her speech and disfigured her face she charged on with her camera. Moth died of cancer in 2010 at 59 years of age.
Moth deserves praise for her camerawork becoming the dangerous “gold standard” for 24-hour news. Was Moth a moth driven to fly right into the fire?
RKS 2024 Film Rating 90/100.
Set the Bar 