2013 American film
Finding Vivian Maier | |
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Promotional poster | |
Directed by |
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Screenplay by |
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Produced by |
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Starring |
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Narrated by | John Maloof |
Cinematography | John Maloof |
Edited by | Aaron Wickenden |
Music by | J. Ralph |
Production company | Ravine Pictures |
Distributed by | IFC Films |
Release dates |
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Running time | 84 minutes |
Country | United States |
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Box office | $2.2 million |
Finding Vivian Maier is a 2013 American documentary film about the photographer Vivian Maier, written, directed, and produced by John Maloof and Charlie Siskel, and executive produced by Jeff Garlin.
Maier was a French-American woman who worked most of her life as a nanny and housekeeper to a multitude of Chicago families. She carried a camera everywhere she went, but Maier's photographic legacy was largely unknown during her lifetime. She died in 2009.
The film documents how Maloof discovered her work and, after her death, uncovered her life through interviews with people who knew her. Maloof had purchased a box of photo negatives at a 2007 Chicago auction, then scanned the images and put them on the Internet. News articles began to come out about Maier and a Kickstarter campaign for the documentary was soon underway.
The film had its world premiere at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival on 9 September 2013. It was shown in cinemas, and was released on DVD in November 2014. Upon release, the film received critical acclaim, and won various awards, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 87th Academy Awards.
Selected cast
- John Maloof
- Phil Donahue
- Mary Ellen Mark
- Joel Meyerowitz
- Tim Roth
Reception
Critical response
Finding Vivian Maier has an approval rating of 95% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 100 reviews, and an average rating of 7.50/10. The website's critical consensus states, "Narratively gripping, visually striking, and ultimately thought-provoking, Finding Vivian Maier shines an overdue spotlight on its subject's long-hidden brilliance". It also has a score of 75 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 27 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Accolades
- 2014: Best Documentary Feature, Alaska Airlines Audience Award, Portland International Film Festival.
- 2014: Best New Director Award, Alaska Airlines Audience Award, Portland International Film Festival.
- 2014: Founders Prize for Best Documentary, Traverse City Film Festival.
- 2014: Won (tied with The Overnighters by Jesse Moss) Grand Jury Prize, Knight Documentary Competition, Miami International Film Festival.
- 2014: John Schlesinger Award for Outstanding First Feature, Palm Springs International Film Festival.
- 2014: Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 87th Academy Awards.
- 2014: Nominated for Best Documentary Screenplay from the Writers Guild of America.
References
- "Finding Vivian Maier (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. June 25, 2014. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
- "Finding Vivian Maier (2014) - Box Office Mojo".
- "‘Finding Vivian Maier’ Reveals Life of Mysterious Street Photographer", Variety (magazine). Accessed 7 August 2014.
- "Candid Camera", The New Yorker. Accessed 7 August 2014.
- "Finding Vivian Maier Is a Fascinating Tale of the Street Photographer Archived August 4, 2014, at the Wayback Machine", The Village Voice. Accessed 7 August 2014.
- "Nanny Strangest: On "Finding Vivian Maier"", The Wall Street Journal. Accessed 7 August 2014.
- "A Mystery Woman’s Eye on the World: A Documentary Looks at the Photographer Vivian Maier", The New York Times. Accessed 7 August 2014.
- Stevens, Dana (January 16, 2015). "Vivian Maier's Photographs Are Stunning. But the Oscar-Nominated Movie About Her Is a Mess". Slate.com. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
- Bradshaw, Peter (July 17, 2014). "Finding Vivian Maier review – fascinating study of a brilliant undiscovered talent". Theguardian.com=. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
- "The Nanny as Sphinx, Weaving Enigmatic Magic on the Sly", The New York Times. Accessed 19 August 2015.
- "New doc exposes photo-snapping nanny Vivian Maier". Retrieved January 27, 2018.
- Lyne, Charlie (November 19, 2014). "Finding Vivian Maier out now on DVD". The Guardian. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
- Finding Vivian Maier, retrieved January 27, 2018
- "2015 Oscar Nominations: Imitation Game, Meryl Streep, Still Alice & More". Out Magazine. January 15, 2015.
- "Finding Vivian Maier". Rotten Tomatoes.
- "Finding Vivian Maier". Metacritic.
- ^ "Announcing The 37th Portland International Film Festival’s Alaska Airlines Audience Awards Archived August 28, 2014, at the Wayback Machine", Northwest Film Center. Accessed 7 August 2014.
- "TCFF10 Award Winners", Traverse City Film Festival. Accessed 7 August 2014.
- "Exposing Vivian Maier's Secret Life and Private Passion", Miami International Film Festival. Accessed 7 August 2014.
- "25th Palm Springs International Film Festival Announces Festival Winners Archived August 8, 2014, at the Wayback Machine", Palm Springs International Film Society. Accessed 7 August 2014.
- "‘Broken Circle Breakdown,’ ‘Finding Vivian Maier’ Among Palm Springs Film Fest Winners", Variety (magazine). Accessed 7 August 2014.
- Variety Staff (February 23, 2015). "Oscar Winners 2015: Complete List". Variety. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
- Brown, Kat (February 23, 2015). "Oscars 2015 winners list in full". Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved August 29, 2018 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
- "Oscars 2015: Winners list". BBC News. February 23, 2015. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
- "WGA Noms for "Vivian Maier," "Red Army"". realscreen.com. Realscreen. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
External links
- Official website
- Finding Vivian Maier at IMDb
- Finding Vivian Maier at Box Office Mojo
- Finding Vivian Maier at Rotten Tomatoes
- Finding Vivian Maier at Metacritic
- Maloof and Siskel interviewed by David Poland about Finding Vivian Maier (36 minute video)
- 2013 films
- 2010s biographical films
- 2013 documentary films
- American biographical films
- American documentary films
- American independent films
- Documentary films about Chicago
- Documentary films about photographers
- Documentary films about women
- Films set in Chicago
- Films shot in Chicago
- Kickstarter-funded documentaries
- 2010s English-language films
- 2010s American films
- Films scored by J. Ralph
- English-language documentary films
- English-language biographical films