CINECITY 2022: All The Beauty and the Bloodshed

Dir: Laura Poitras. USA 2022. 117 mins.

The remarkable art and activism of photographer Nan Goldin is celebrated in this powerful documentary, which received the Golden Lion award for Best Film at Venice this year. Laura Poitras (whose previous work includes Oscar-winner Citizenfour) skillfully interweaves the various threads of Goldin’s life. The film shows the links between Goldin’s traumatic upbringing, groundbreaking photography, descent into addiction and subsequent political involvement. After surviving an overdose, Goldin forms PAIN (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now), an action group which campaigns to make pharmaceutical companies accountable for the massive opioid crisis. In particular she targets the Sackler family - manufacturers of OxyContin, a deeply addictive drug - in a series of memorable protests. This film is an inspiring testimony to the importance of art and political engagement. “Already a robust director, Laura Poitras has levelled up with a towering and devastating work of shocking intelligence and still greater emotional power.” SOPHIE MONKS KAUFMAN, Indiewire