Report: Restrepo Director Tim Hetherington Killed in Libya
This just in, and just devastating; Tim Hetherington, the acclaimed war photographer who this year shared an Oscar nomination with Sebastian Junger for their documentary Restrepo, has been reported killed with a colleague while covering the ongoing conflict in Libya.
Word broke this morning via André Liohn, a fellow combat photographer who posted the news to his Facebook page: "Sad news Tim Hetherington died in Misrata now when covering the front line. Chris Hondros is in a serious status. Michel Brown and Guy are wounded but fine." Liohn noted Hondros's own death minutes later. Asked by a commenter if this was confirmed, Liohn immediately replied, "Yes."
Hetherington tweeted less than 36 hours ago about the status of the region he was covering: "In besieged Libyan city of Misrata. Indiscriminate shelling by Qaddafi forces. No sign of NATO."
Hetherington's directing debut Restrepo followed a troop of American soldiers in one of the most violent and embattled parts of Afghanistan. He and co-director Sebastian Junger won the documentary Grand Jury Prize at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival before going on to an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature.
"We're storytellers, and we're also pretty good at telling stories at the extreme edges," Hetherington told Movieline last year at Sundance. "That's what I do. I would love to tell a story about the rain forest in the Amazon, but the reality is that for the last ten years, that's not what I've been doing. [...] And if you've invested 10 years of life into it or more, then you want to kind of make something, or reach a point where you've distilled something. And I really feel that Restrepo is a distillation of what I've learned about war, and what I've seen of war."
Developing...
· André Liohn [Facebook via Business Insider]
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Comments
Tragic.
When you piss in a beehive or try to 'shoot a movie' in a war zone, don't complain when shit goes bad. No business being in Libya in the first place.
@Bill: Grow up. Don't spread hate. Show some compassion for a man who was trying to help. Libya needs help, in a bad way
@ his family and friends: my sympathies. loss of a life is never good. I have friends missing in Misratha right now (libyan family) and can feel your grief. God speed to the next chapter.
This is the problem with Facebook..."Breaking News" that someone has died! Hopefully this isn't way his family will be finding out he won't be coming home.
Thoughts and prayers to the family.
Good night Libya:
So long Tim,,
That`s war
Thanks,,
In response to:
"FROM BILL | REPLY
POSTED 20 APR 2011, 1:37 PM
When you piss in a beehive or try to 'shoot a movie' in a war zone, don't complain when shit goes bad. No business being in Libya in the first place."
Some people like to get their news stories straight from the source.. Not from some conservative news laundered source like Fox news. Show some compassion you redneck.
Yeah, he was really helping Libya over there, right...
Bill, if you're saying that truthful news reporting from war zones - where there is not only the certainty of criminal cruelty, unlawful measures and mortal negligence or incompetence, but also the fully revved propaganda machines of warring factions at work - is unimportant and not worth the risk, then you are dangerously small-minded.
If, however, you're saying that the people who go in for front-line reporting are not doing it squarely to report the truth, then sure, there is obviously some sort of adrenaline and risk addiction spurring them on, and a hunger for glory. But whatever their personality traits, they take nothing from the work these people do, and they don't mean they are not passionately devoted to the truth. If his death isn't tragic, then neither is the death of any voluntary soldier.
There was a ton of truth in Restrepo. RIP.
Great post Dac, I agree %100. Journalists like Tim prove that individuals of the media business still can make a difference against the power of hegemony.
RIP
Having worked with Tim H on Restrepo, I can assure you he was a prince among men and threw himself into the fray to cast a light on injustice, among other things. He was a lovely man who spent years in Liberia, working on humanitarian causes, and helped us see the wider truth behind war, wherever it might be. He deserves only respect, and his family deserves our respect and condolences. A nicer man you couldn't find.