Purple Magazine
— The New York issue #39 S/S 2023
Laura Poitras
INTERVIEW BY OLIVIER ZAHM
ARTWORK BY JENNY HOLZER
CELEBRATED DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER LAURA POITRAS EXPOSES THE STRUCTURES OF POWER THROUGH HER POIGNANT FILMS.
SHE RECENTLY WON THE VENICE FILM FESTIVAL’S TOP AWARD WITH ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED, ABOUT NEW YORK ARTIST NAN GOLDIN’S BATTLE AGAINST AMERICA’S OPIOID CRISIS.
FOR POITRAS, NEW YORK IS THE CITY WHERE ART AND POLITICS REALLY DO COLLIDE.
OLIVIER ZAHM — Let’s start with Nan Goldin because it’s important to speak about her and your film. I’ve known Nan’s work for 30 years, but I didn’t know about her activism. What made you want to do a film about this aspect of her life?
LAURA POITRAS — The film be- gan with Nan’s current activism and her confronting the Sackler family, which is responsible for fueling the overdose crisis in the US. I think about the film as a portrait of Nan set within a…
-
JENNY HOLZER, VIGIL, 2019, LIGHT PROJECTION, ROCKEFELLER CENTER, NEW YORK, TEXT: TESTIMONY BY CHERYL STUMBO, COPYRIGHT 2019 BY THE AUTHOR, USED WITH HER PERMISSION, FROM THE “MOMENTS THAT SURVIVE” WEBSITE OF EVERYTOWN. ORG, SEPTEMBER 20, 2019, PRESENTED BY CREATIVE TIME, PHOTO FILIP WOLAK
-
JENNY HOLZER, VIGIL, 2019, LIGHT PROJECTION, ROCKEFELLER CENTER, NEW YORK, TEXT: “SO MANY” BY ZACHARY SURI, COPYRIGHT 2019 BY THE AUTHOR, FROM “CNN OPINION” WEBSITE, SEPTEMBER 5, 2019, USED WITH PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR, PRESENTED BY CREATIVE TIME, PHOTO FILIP WOLAK