Director Maura Smith’s documentary “Steve Schapiro: Being Everywhere” takes a close look at a photographer who somehow managed to be in the right place at the right time for decades. Schapiro spent his career bouncing between celebrity portraits and major social movements, shooting everyone from Andy Warhol and Barbra Streisand to Muhammad Ali, James Baldwin, and Martin Luther King Jr. The film doesn’t just roll out the greatest hits, but actually spends time with the quieter side of Schapiro. Smith does a great job digging into how Schapiro thought, why he worked the way he did, and what drove him to keep showing up with a camera.
The movie mixes Schapiro’s dry but thoughtful narration with plenty of his photos, including both the polished celebrity shots and his raw, on-the-ground work. You get a sense of how wide-ranging his career really was, from early assignments with migrant workers in Arkansas to Hollywood sets and historic civil rights moments. Instead of painting him as some mythic figure, the film shows him as someone who paid attention, stayed curious, and took people seriously.
The documentary keeps things simple and steady. It doesn’t over-explain and never tries to hype up the material. Smith wisely lets Schapiro guide most of the story himself. There’s a quietness to it that fits him well, as he never really seems interested in being the center of attention. The film works so well because Smith respects that.
In the end, “Steve Schapiro: Being Everywhere” lands less like a flashy retrospective and more like an honest reflection on a long life spent looking closely at the world. If you’re into photography, American history, or stories about how art intersects with activism, this is a documentary you should definitely check out.
By: Louisa Moore
Screen Zealots 