- Welcome to Independent Lens.
I'm Pete Schwaba, host of PBS Wisconsin's Director's Cut.
Tonight, we bring you the story
of an iconic civil rights photographer
who is said to have taken millions of photos
during his lifetime, in the film The Picture Taker.
As a young man, Ernest Withers served in the military,
which is where he first picked up a camera.
After his tour of duty, Withers opened a studio
and patrolled the streets of Memphis as a photographer.
He took photos of everything
from family parties to historic events.
Withers is thought to have taken close to two million photos
of the civil rights movement alone.
Making this number even more impressive
is the fact that during his time,
none of these were taken with a cell phone and saved to a cloud.
Ernest used actual film that had to be developed.
That's right, kids.
Withers had to do it the old-fashioned way.
To say he was a dedicated photographer
would be an understatement.
But to say he was dedicated to the cause of civil rights
would only prove half true to some.
It was learned posthumously
that Withers was also sharing his photos with the FBI
and was spying on his fellow Memphis residents,
including Martin Luther King,
invoking anger from those who knew him
and who claimed that Withers sold his soul for money.
Director Phil Bertelsen is an Emmy
and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker
who inherited this project when his mentor, St. Clair Bourne,
who was working on a doc
about the respected photographer, passed away.
At first, Bertelsen was content making a film
based on the materials passed on by Bourne.
But when Withers' informant history came to light,
Bertlesen changed the focus of the film
to show what a complex character his leading man was.
Bertelsen made good use of Withers' work,
using his photos to construct his story around.
This is not Bertelsen's first venture into Black history
or civil rights.
He directed and was part of a team
that produced the Netflix series Who Killed Malcolm X?
A multi-talented artist,
Bertelsen also directs episodic network series for TV as well.
And now, it's a marriage of moving pictures and still photos
as one storyteller gives us a snapshot of the life of another.
The Picture Taker starts now on PBS Wisconsin,
your home for independent film.