On Rai 5 a documentary on Dorothea Lange, photographer of the United States of the Great Depression

On Wednesday, January 22 at 9:15 p.m. on Rai 5, Art Night, hosted by Neri Marcorè, premieres Dorothea Lange. Capturing the Light, a documentary dedicated to the famous American photographer Dorothea Lange (Hoboken, 1895 - San Francisco, 1965). Directed and narrated by her granddaughter Dyanna Taylor, the film explores the life and legacy of Lange, an artist whose work spanned the most dramatic folds of American history, capturing the face of suffering, injustice and hope.

Dorothea Lange is universally known for The Migrant Mother, a shot that became a visual symbol of the Great Depression. The photograph, taken in 1936, depicts Florence Owens Thompson, a mother looking lost into an uncertain future, surrounded by her children. This portrait not only captures the human drama of that historical period, but also becomes a warning to American society, a reminder of the need to look into the eyes of the inequalities and hardships of those living on the margins.

However, the figure of Dorothea Lange goes far beyond this single masterpiece. The documentary Dorothea Lange. Capturing the Light aims to tell the story of the woman behind the lens, her path, her beliefs and her artistic legacy, through an intimate and profound look that only a granddaughter, raised in the wake of her visual lesson, could offer.

Dyanna Taylor, an award-winning filmmaker, constructed this documentary by weaving together family memories, personal diaries and a wealth of visual documentation, including never-before-seen footage. The filmmaker learned from a young age to see the world through her grandmother’s eyes, an experience that shines through in the empathetic and engaging portrait she offers of the photographer.

One of the most extraordinary aspects of Dorothea Lange’s work is her ability to empathize with her subjects. By making herself almost invisible behind the lens, she was able to capture moments of extraordinary intimacy and authenticity. This empathy was the driving force behind her work, which transcended mere documentation to become a tool for denunciation and social change. Her photographs were never cold chronicles of poverty, but powerful invitations to see the humanity behind the statistics and numbers.

Throughout her career, Dorothea Lange transformed photography into an instrument of social justice. Her intransigence in telling uncomfortable truths and her ability to transform suffering into images of extraordinary power have secured her an honored place in the history of photography and photojournalism.

On Rai 5 a documentary on Dorothea Lange, photographer of the United States of the Great Depression

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