Robert Richardson: The White Devil

This film came into being in the most improbable way imaginable. Jana Hojdová, a former cinematography student at Prague’s FAMU, decided to reach out to Robert Richardson for her master’s graduation project. His work, spanning decades of film history, had inspired her like nothing else in the world. She wrote him an e-mail — and to her surprise, he replied. What began as a student exercise soon grew into an extraordinary creative partnership and a deep personal friendship. Richardson opened up to Jana in a way he had never opened up to anyone before. He gave her access to hundreds of hours of his private video archives and let her into both his personal and professional life. Jana began to create a documentary portrait from the inside. She travelled with Richardson all over the world, attended the Academy Awards and witnessed major film productions alongside directors such as Quentin Tarantino, Oliver Stone and Martin Scorsese. The result is not just a film about one of the most important cinematographers of our time, but above all a powerful and inspiring story about courage, passion and faith. A reminder that where you come from matters less than the determination to pursue your vision, and that even the highest peaks are within reach.