MOVIE GUIDE: The Stringer: The Man Who Took The Photo (2025)
Journalists and photojournalists alike base their credibility on reporting and capturing moments without bias. Objectivity is the name of the game—the sacred commandment, the golden rule that must never be broken or twisted. For both journalists and the news agencies they represent, this principle is paramount and an unbreakable duty owed to their readers.
What appears in a photograph—and who actually took it—are critical pieces of information that can elevate a photographer’s reputation or completely destroy a career, along with the credibility of a news organization.
The Stringer, a term used during the Vietnam War to describe freelance local photojournalists working with news agencies, explores a sensitive issue that has cast doubt on Pulitzer Prize–winning photographer Nick Út and the world-renowned Associated Press (AP). Now, in this explosive exposé, director Bao Nguyen and photographer Gary Knight, following a two-year independent investigation, claim that Út was not the photographer who took the iconic image in 1972.
Napalm Girl, the haunting photograph of a young girl running and crying after a napalm attack, became one of the defining images that shifted public perception of that brutal war. For nearly 50 years, Nick Út was credited as the man behind the lens. The photograph brought him global recognition, a Pulitzer Prize, a World Press Photo Award, and numerous other honors.
No one disputes the authenticity of the scene itself—the moment happened exactly as shown. The controversy lies solely in authorship. Nguyen and Knight present compelling evidence challenging Út’s claim, yet AP continues to stand by its original credit following its own internal review. Justice remains unresolved, lingering for the true stringer behind the photograph.
Judge for yourselves.
“Journalists don´t ban books or films they haven´t read. Our job is to investigate, not to protect mythologies…”
Gary Knight
Available on: Netflix
