Magnum Photos - ein Mythos ändert sich

In celebration of the 60th anniversary of the legendary agency Magnum Photos, the Berlin International Film Festival and Magnum are presenting a rare opportunity to view films by and about its outstanding photographers. The Berlinale's MAGNUM IN MOTION programme contains documentaries, biographies, short films and photo essays. Founded in 1947 by Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, George Rodger and David "Chim" Sey mour, Magnum Photos opened a new chapter in the history of photojournalism. The agency was established as a co-operative recognising the photographers as owners of their own copyright. Today, Magnum continues to be wholly governed by its members and is probably the longest running artists' co-operative in the world. In the words of Cartier-Bresson: "Magnum is a community of thought, a shared human quality, a curiosity about what is going on in the world, a respect for what is going on, and a desire to transcribe it visually." The list of Magnum's members reads like the who's who of photography. However, the fact that many of them also worked in film is less known. Many members have turned their talents to moving images: from the founding generation of Henri Cartier-Bresson, Elliott Erwitt, René Burri and Eve Arnold through to Raymond Depardon, Thomas Hoepker, Donovan Wylie, Susan Meiselas, to name just a few. "From still photography through to the moving image, by way of the animated photo essay, different forms of story telling has always been the passion of Magnum photographers", says Dominique Green, director of Magnum Photos, London.
The film series will be accompanied by a DVD and a booklet. The Berlin gallery Camera Work will also be presenting an exhi bition, Magnum Photos@Camera Work, Berlin 1946 - 2006 from February 9 -March 3, 2007.