“Finding Vivian Maier” documentary to premiere at Toronto International Film Festival

 

 

It's seems almost as long of a road for the documentary "Finding Vivian Maier" to get its world premiere as it's been for its mysterious street photographer subject to find world recognition. The movie, which began as Kickstarter project in 2010, traces the life of Maier, a virtually unknown photographer whose stirring, black-and-white work was discovered in a storage locker only a few years before her death.

The documentary's filmmakers, John Maloof (who purchased Maier's negatives at a storage locker auction in 2007) and Charlie Siskel, released a trailer for "Finding Vivian Maier" (see below) back in February and today announced the movie will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. While a specific date has not been set yet for the premiere, the film is expected to be shown between September 5th and 15th. Check out the film's Facebook page for updates.

"Finding Vivian Maier" is actually one of two films focusing on this elusive photographer to cause a stir in recent months. In June, the BBC aired its own documentary, "Vivian Maier: Who Took Nanny's Pictures?" on BBC One. That movie then appeared briefly on YouTube before it was taken down.

Maier worked as a nanny in Chicago for 40 years, beginning in the mid-1950s, during which time she shot over 100,000 street photos of the residents and cityscapes of the area. Most of Maier's images went undeveloped until Maloof, a Chicago historian, purchased the negatives and printed them. Maier's work is now being hailed as some of the best street photography of the 20th Century, with comparisons to Diane Arbus, Robert Frank, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Weegee.