Film And TV Now recently interviewed cinematographer / film-maker Peter Stein ASC about his work on the documentary OUT OF EXILE – THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF FRED STEIN, which recently played at the online Paris International Film Festival 2022, where it won the award for ‘Best Editing for a Feature Documentary‘ (Dawn Freer)
Watch the interview here:
About the documentary:
“Out of Exile – The Photography of Fred Stein” delves into the mystery of the unknown photographer who made iconic photographs of the 20th century.
Watch the trailer here:
It begins in darkness: the Nazi threat in Germany forces Fred Stein to flee for his life. In 1930s Paris, destitute, he finds a way to support himself – photography. And thousands of brilliant photographs are born. But he’s in the middle of a war, and soon he’s fleeing for his life again. After a harrowing escape, he makes it to New York, and another treasure trove of photographs flows from his camera. But by an accident of fate, he dies young, before photography was recognized as an art, and so his work is forgotten.
His son, Peter, believes in his father’s work, and sets out to bring it to the attention of the art world. He soon finds out that it is not an easy task…
Fred Stein’s love for photography lights up the way: weaving throughout the film are images that are sophisticated, beautiful, and touching; as well as his penetrating portraits of some of the most important figures of the mid-20th century, including his famous photo of Albert Einstein.
Awards to date:
Best Feature Documentary:
Prague International,
Istanbul,
Argenteuil International,
International Documentary Film Awards,
Spotlight Documentary Film Awards.
Best Editing for a Feature Documentary:
Paris International Film Festival 2022.
Director Statement:
“I have always felt that it was entrusted to me to keep my father’s name from being forgotten. A pioneering street photographer in Paris in the 1930s and New York in the 1940s, Fred Stein had the misfortune to die young, before photography was recognized as an art form, and so his work was neglected. But I have always known that his photographs are important, and deserve a place in art history.
Now that I am established in my life and my career as a Director of Photography, and as a former Professor of Cinematography in the Graduate Film Program at New York University for many years, I have the knowledge and means to achieve this goal.
Together with my wife Dawn Freer, an accomplished writer and film editor, we have brought his work before the public again and have attained success in introducing him to the art world.
We feel that the way that he lived his life is an invaluable story, full of historical drama and psychological depth. He went through terrible ordeals – fleeing the Nazis, nearly losing his life several times, living in exile, poverty, hardship – and yet he responded by making timeless art. He always kept an optimistic and humorous outlook. He was kind, and fought for the common man. His examples are inspiring more and more, the more we learn about him.
We made this film in order to introduce not only the photographs, but also the man, to the world. The photographs, which are beautiful, and the man, who was special from his beginnings in Dresden, Germany.
I have travelled to Dresden, as the place of my father’s, and my mother’s birth, many times in my quest to complete this story, and have many friends and connections there. My mother’s house, the Villa Salzburg, was one of the few houses left intact after the firebombing of the war.
My father’s dramatic life is told through the first person perspective, illustrated with archival film and period music and personal photographs, and given his character by the in- depth performance of the multi lingual actor Mark Waschke reading my father’s actual words from his writings, showing his unique voice. This is also the case of Lilo Stein my mother, acted by the brilliant German-American actress Barbara Sukowa with words taken from writings as well as past interviews.
The film is a multi-layered documentary. There are three threads: it tells the story of Fred Stein, from a first person perspective. Set against that is the journey of Peter Stein who brings the work to the art world. This strand is told by Peter himself, who is a warm and intimate raconteur. Curators, dealers, gallery owner, collectors, buyers, and ordinary people give us commentary.
Peter’s story also uses archival and modern footage. A third element weaves though the two stories together, set off against the biographical background in all their brilliance: the photographs. These are really the star of the show. Each time the photographs come on the screen in a montage, set to music, it lifts the narrative and shows us what it’s all about.
We titled the film “Out of Exile” because we feel it is not only the story of my father and his journey through two new countries to find a permanent home, and the current emergence of his art after so many years, but because of the relevancy of the exile experience in the modern world today. Fred Stein’s spirit, determination and hopefulness shine through his photographs and set an example that given the chance an exile can make a strong contribution.”
Peter Stein, Dawn Freer
For more on the film, please go to:
https://www.fredsteinmovie.com/
Read Film And TV Now’s review of the film here:
PARIS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2022 REVIEW: OUT OF EXILE – THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF FRED STEIN
PETER STEIN / DAWN FREER FILMOGRAPHY:
Director of Photography – Feature Films – Narrative, Theatrical Release
Landfall, Drama – Tanglewood Entertainment, 2000.
Mr. Nanny, Comedy – New Line Cinema, 1993.
Missing Pieces, Comedy – Orion Pictures, 1991
Necessary Roughness – Comedy, Paramount Pictures, 1991 Stephen Stephen King’s Graveyard Shift – Thriller, Paramount Pictures, 1990 Ernest Goes to Jail – Comedy, Touchstone Pictures, 1990
After the Rain – Drama, New Century Vista, 1990
Pet Sematary – Supernatural Thriller, Paramount Pictures, 1989
Ernest Saves Christmas – Comedy, Touchstone Pictures, 1988
The Wild Pair – Thriller, Trans World Entertainment 1987
A Great Wall – Orion Pictures, 1986
Billions for Boris – Comedy, Comworld Pictures, 1985
Wildrose – Drama, 1984
C.H.U.D. – Mock horror, New World Pictures, 1984
Reuben, Reuben – 20th Century Fox, 1983
Friday the 13th, Part 2 – Horror, Paramount Pictures, 1981
Television Movies:
Cold Feet, Comedy, NBC
The Con USA Movie, Comedy, USA 1998
A Midwife’s Tale, Period Docudrama, The American Experience – PBS, 1996
Harambee!, Drama PBS, 1996
Desperate Choices, Drama, NBC, 1992
Night Visions, Drama, MGM television for NBC, 1990
The Call, Stand-up comedy, Showtime, 1989
Elvis and Me, Dramatic Miniseries, ABC, 1988
The Last Fling, Romantic comedy, ABC Movie of the Week, 1987
Under Siege, Dramatic Miniseries, NBC Special Event, 1986
The Parent Trap II, Comedy, ABC Disney Movie, 1986
Don’t Touch, ABC, Drama, Emmy Award nomination – cinematography, 1986
Izzy and Moe, Comedy, CBS Movie of the Week, 1985
Mom’s on Strike, Drama, ABC 1984
Private Contentment, Period drama, PBS Playhouse, 1982
Robbers, Rooftops, and Witches, Drama, CBS, Emmy Award nomination – Cinematography, 1982
The Color of Friendship, Drama, ABC, 1982
Starstruck, ABC, Drama, 1981
The Mystery of the Morro Castle, Docudrama, HBO, 1980
A Good Dissonance Like a Man, Docudrama, PBS Special, 1977
DOCUMENTARIES:
Tupperware, The American Experience, PBS 2005
The Politics of Cancer, 1994
Streetsmart Kids, HBO Special, 1985
Laughs, HBO Special, 1981
Just Crazy About Horses, 1978
HONORS, AWARDS, AND ACHIEVEMENTS:
Member of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC)
Nominated for two Emmy Awards for Cinematography
Member of Society for Photographic Education
RELATED ACTIVITIES:
Cinematography Workshops internationally
The Paris International Film Festival 2022, of which Film And TV Now is an Official Partner – and Contributing Writer John Higgins is Press Co-ordinator, ran online in 2022 between 10th and 20th February 2022, with some amazing features and shorts celebrating change, diversity and independent film-makers and voices.
To participate in the 2023 Edition and for general info and tickets, please go to:
https://www.parisintlfest.com/
