I've seen Dangfung Dennis' still photography in the past and I was intrigued and incredibly impressed by the quality and starkness of his images. Dennis' most recent work, Hell and Back Again is a documentary about the war in Afghanistan and the effect it has had on American soldiers as well as Afghan natives. In the attached article published by The New York Times' Lens blog, writer Michael Kamber discusses Dennis' role as a filmmaker and how his artistic choices affect the messages being conveyed in the film. Kamber points out that the film blurs certain lines between documentary and "other" because of aesthetic factors used by Dennis, such as depth of field and color saturation. This is reminiscent of the article on Damon Winter's award-winning Hipstamatic series, coincidentally shot in Afghanistan. Kamber also mentions that while documenting the lives of a returned soldier and his wife in the United States, Dennis chooses not to intervene in situations that may have called for his assistance.
This all relates to what it means to be a journalist and a filmmaker, as well as what can be considered a documentary.
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