Through a Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People

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Through a Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People

2014

1h 30m

Documentary

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Popcornmeter

63%

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19 Reviews

73%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

Filmmaker Thomas Allen Harris examines how photography has affected the lives of black Americans.

Zeba Blay

Shadow and Act

A history reaching far back into the past and shining a light on those who paved the way for everyone, all of us, to affirm our own identities through the images we take of ourselves and each other.

Sep 14, 2022

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Drew Hunt

Chicago Reader

This ambitious and heartbreaking documentary tackles no less mammoth a subject than the African-American identity as it exists in photographic imagery.

Feb 20, 2015

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Ann Hornaday

Washington Post

A fascinating, visually stunning, emotionally devastating documentary by Thomas Allen Harris.

Rated: 3/4

Dec 11, 2014

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Ray Pride

Newcity

Thomas Allen Harris' lush, lovely, loving Through a Lens Darkly chronicles the role of photography in a 170-year history of the lives of black Americans. A teeming abundance of stirring and often brilliant imagery by African-American artists.

Sep 23, 2014

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Avi Offer

NYC Movie Guru

Provocative and mildly engaging. It could have used a better organization of its wealth of facts.

Rated: 7.12/10

Aug 29, 2014

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David Noh

Film Journal International

It's all way too much, for in his desire to be comprehensive, Harris plumb forgets that less would have been more.

Aug 27, 2014

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Audience Member

America is hopelessly beautiful in these photos. America is hopelessly ugly in these pictures. It remains to us to choose which image to respect.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

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Synopsis

Filmmaker Thomas Allen Harris examines how photography has affected the lives of black Americans.

Director: Thomas Allen Harris
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 18, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $65.2K
Runtime: 1h 30m

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