Synopsis

Ernest Hemingway, Martin Luther King, Walt Disney, Einstein, Fidel Castro, JFK, Winston Churchill, Picasso, Glen Gould, Audrey Hepburn: we all know that single, most famous picture of every one of them. Behind the camera was the legendary photographer Yousuf Karsh. The film illuminates the multiple meanings ordinary people as well as critics, curators and philosophers attach to portrait photographs and - through the prism of these meanings - portrays the singular career of Yousuf Karsh, the ultimate mythmaker.

Through Karsh's career the film poses these questions: Where do portrait photography and Karsh stand today? What was it about Karsh’s art that ranks him as one of the greats of 20th century photography?

More on Film

Karsh rose from a poor, immigrant commercial photographer to the world famous "Karsh of Ottawa." From an early age, his status began to acquire such universal currency that his portraits could elevate the sitters to the Pantheon of Secular Sainthood. To be 'Karshed' was a synonym for having attained the summit of worldly achievement. During his six-decade career the 15,312 portraits he made are arguably the portrait gallery of the most celebrated figures of the 20th century and ranks him as one of the greatest of 20th century photography.

In short, this film is a retrospective of Karsh that travels back in time through the history of photography from today to his arrival in Canada in 1924.

The film also has an outstanding jazz-infused music track composed by Ramachandran Borcar.

studied advertising, journalism and public relations at the Université de Montréal, and business administration at UQAM. From 1995 to 2005, he was president of Quatre par Quatre Films. Hillel produced the feature-length films La moitié gauche du frigo (Philippe Falardeau) and Un crabe dans la tête (André Turpin).

Festivals & Awards

2009 International Festival of Films on Art, Canada
Won Award for Best Canadian Documentary

2009 Les Rendez-vous du Cinema Québecois, Canada

2010 Yorkton Short Film & Video Festival, Canada

2010 Thessaloniki International Film Festival, Greece

2010 Banff International Television Festival, Canada

2010 Gemini Awards, Canada
Nominated for Best Biography Documentary Program
Nominated for Best Original Music Score for a Documentary Program or Series