Reporter is a 2009 documentary film about the work of New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Executive produced by Ben Affleck and directed by Eric Daniel Metzgar, the HBO movie captures life in the war-ravaged African country and specifically focuses on the challenges faced by international correspondents in covering the region's crises.[1]

Reporter
Directed byEric Daniel Metzgar
Produced byBen Affleck
Mikaela Beardsley
Steven Cantor
StarringNicholas D. Kristof
CinematographyEric Daniel Metzgar
Edited byEric Daniel Metzgar
Music byEric Liebman
Release date
  • January 16, 2009 (2009-01-16) (Sundance)
LanguageEnglish

Production

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The documentary was filmed during the summer of 2007, when Kristof traveled to eastern Congo with Leana Wen, then an American medical student, and Will Okun, a high school teacher from Chicago. Wen and Okun were chosen to travel with Kristof as winners of the Second Annual Win A Trip with Nick Kristof contest, held in 2007 by The New York Times.[2]

Release

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Reporter premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival[3] and aired on HBO on February 18, 2010.[4]

Reception

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In reviewing the film, Entertainment Weekly wrote: "In Reporter, he's a compelling figure, a cross between Mother Teresa and the James Woods character in Salvador, and what seals the intensity of his job is the danger."[5] The Washington Post observed, "Ideally, [Kristof] hopes to teach his companions, who won a contest to travel with him, about the value of witnessing the world's atrocities and scintillating them into stories that will call on people to act."[4]

Reporter was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

References

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  1. ^ Documentary follows New York Times columnist in Africa
  2. ^ "The Second Annual Win a Trip with Nick Kristof". The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
  3. ^ "2009 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES FILMS IN COMPETITION". Sundance Institute. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
  4. ^ a b "Hank Stuever on HBO's 'Reporter' with Nicholas D. Kristof". Washington Post. 2010-02-18. Retrieved 2010-02-18.
  5. ^ Owen Gleiberman, "Sundance: Sneaky Soderbergh, and chasing the buzz," Entertainment Weekly, Jan. 21, 2009
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