NORTH AMERICA Premiere at DOC NYC 2025

Misan Harriman’s: When the Camera Faces the World and the Photographer Faces Himself

Misan Harriman. Shot the People. Andy Mundy Castle. 2025.

There’s a moment in every photographer’s life when the lens stops being a shield and becomes a mirror. Shoot the People, the new documentary about Misan Harriman premiering this week at DOC NYC, lives right inside that moment.

NEW YORK CITY. Written by Pablo Herrera

Harriman has built a career capturing some of the most charged scenes of our time — protests for racial justice, communities in crisis, people standing at the fragile intersections of dignity, danger, and visibility. But what sets this film apart is not the urgency of the images; it’s the way Harriman interrogates his position inside them.

He knows the power of a photograph. He also knows its risk: the image can eclipse the person; the photographer can become the protagonist; the suffering can turn into spectacle. And Harriman refuses to let that happen silently. The documentary shows him wrestling openly with the ethical weight of pointing a camera toward someone whose story is bigger, more painful, and more vulnerable than his own.

That honesty is rare. And it matters.

“What sets this film apart is not the urgency of the images; it’s the way Harriman interrogates his position inside them.”

A Photographer Who Doesn’t Hide From the Problem

Most photographers avoid the conversation. They hide behind craft, behind aesthetics, behind the idea that “the world needs to see this.” Harriman doesn’t. He acknowledges the tension between documenting injustice and unintentionally consuming it. He recognizes how easily the camera can drain the oxygen from the very people it claims to amplify.

And because he names the problem, he breaks the ego loop.

His work stops being about extracting a dramatic moment and becomes about accompanying a human being. That shift, subtle, mature, deeply conscious; changes the entire emotional architecture of his images.

It also holds a powerful lesson for young creators today, especially those inside TMN®, who are growing up in a world where the line between storytelling and spectacle has never been thinner.

“Harriman’s gaze and craft offer a powerful lesson for young creators today, especially those inside TMN®: in an era where the line between storytelling and spectacle grows thinner by the day, intention is everything.”

Photography as Responsibility, Not Performance

The film follows Harriman across protests, quiet conversations, streets trembling with collective energy. But beneath every frame, there’s a question humming:

What does it mean to photograph someone whose pain is not yours?

Harriman doesn’t pretend to have the perfect answer — and that humility is what gives the documentary its gravity. He steps into spaces of struggle with awareness, not bravado. He listens more than he speaks. He carries the weight of each encounter with a sense of stewardship rather than ownership.

In a time when social media rewards proximity to suffering, Harriman’s approach feels almost radical: he never lets the image become more important than the person.

“In a time when social media rewards proximity to suffering, Harriman’s approach feels almost radical: he never lets the image become more important than the person.”

That’s the kind of integrity young creators need to see.

Why This Film Matters for TMN

TMN® was built on the belief that creativity has consequences (and possibilities). Shoot the People lands perfectly in that philosophy. It reminds us that documentary work is not just about being present; it’s about being accountable. Not just about witnessing; about honoring.

For the 16- to 24-year-olds growing inside TMN®, this film is a map: not of technique, but of conscience.

A reminder that the camera is not neutral.
A reminder that the storyteller is part of the story.
And a reminder that ethical clarity is as essential as artistic skill.

THE TAKEAWAY

Photography can’t fix injustice. It can’t heal the people it captures. But it can reveal something true: if the photographer refuses to center themselves, if they stay awake to the power they carry and the harm they could cause.

Harriman stays awake. And that’s why this documentary hits with the force of something real.

Read more articles, interviews, and reviews from DOC NYC 👉🏽 here.

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