Shoot the People review – a powerful portrait of a talented yet controversial photographer

Misan Harriman was catapulted into a new career after turning his camera to anti-racist demonstrations – though the shadow of more recent criticism looms

This is a documentary portrait of the celebrated British-Nigerian photographer, film-maker and activist Misan Harriman, who has campaigned on Gaza and Black Lives Matter, that was completed before the row in May about some of his social media posts. These appeared to amplify anti-Zionist conspiracy theories about media coverage of the Golders Green attack, and inelegantly quoted Susan Sontag’s comments on the Holocaust in relation to Reform UK’s electoral successes. His supporters said this controversy was a smear campaign – and if the film had been made later, Harriman might have wanted to answer the criticisms levelled against him.

As it stands, Harriman emerges from this film as a talented, self-taught photographer: articulate, fluent and candid about his wealthy and privileged background, which allowed him to witness a certain kind of British overclass racism up close. He was making a good living in the financial world before his picture of an anti-racist demonstration went viral after being retweeted by Martin Luther King III (son of Martin Luther King Jr), an interviewee here. Harriman’s new career was born. His short film The After, starring David Oyelowo, was nominated for an Oscar in 2024 and might well have won, in my view, if Wes Anderson had not been included, somewhat against the newcomer spirit of the short film category.
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