Director: Lucy Lawless
Some war correspondents get remembered for the footage they brought back; this 2024 documentary makes the case that a camerawoman's own survival was just as remarkable as anything she filmed.
What is Never Look Away about?
Margaret Moth spent decades as a CNN camerawoman running toward conflict zones most people would run from, building a reputation inside the network for steady footage shot under genuinely dangerous conditions. The film traces what happened after she was struck by sniper fire while working in Sarajevo, an injury severe enough to end most careers, and follows her decision to return to the field rather than retreat into a safer assignment. Rather than framing that choice as simple bravado, the documentary uses interviews with people who worked alongside her — including CNN's Christiane Amanpour — plus family testimony, to build a fuller picture of what drove her. Director Lucy Lawless, working from a Sundance-premiered project, resists turning the story into hagiography, instead letting colleagues describe both her professionalism and the toll the work took.
Cast & crew
The documentary draws its testimony from Margaret Moth's own colleagues and family, with Christiane Amanpour, Stefano Kotsonis, and Jeff Russi appearing as key voices who worked alongside her at CNN and can speak firsthand to the events depicted.
Context & significance
Never Look Away premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2024, part of a documentary directed by actress-turned-filmmaker Lucy Lawless that focuses specifically on photojournalism from behind the camera rather than the news events themselves, an angle that keeps the film centered on one person's working life rather than on the conflicts she covered.
Where & how to watch
The documentary is available on K-Time, built with a Farsi-language interface for Persian-speaking audiences abroad; the page can be read without logging in, and watching the film itself only requires a free account.