Imagine Documentaries, the nonfiction arm of Ron Howard and Brian Grazer's Imagine Entertainment, premiered a new documentary about photographer Richard Avedon at the Cannes Film Festival on May 17. The film, co-produced by the Richard Avedon Foundation, draws heavily from archival interviews conducted by Helen Whitney for the PBS series *American Masters*, supplemented by new interviews with Avedon's son John, muse Lauren Hutton, Isabella Rossellini, Twyla Tharp, and former *New Yorker* colleagues Tina Brown and John Lahr. The documentary explores Avedon's career, his technique of building rapport with subjects, and his iconic images such as *Dovima with Elephants*, which dealer Larry Gagosian notes sold for $2 million.
The documentary matters because it reinforces Avedon's legacy as a transformative figure in photography, bridging fashion, portraiture, and political commentary. However, the film's omissions—such as not addressing Avedon's bisexuality, revealed in a 2017 book by his former studio manager, and skipping analysis of his groundbreaking nude portraits of Joe Dallesandro and Candy Darling—raise questions about whether the co-production by the Avedon Foundation shapes a sanitized narrative. The film also highlights the ongoing commercial value of Avedon's work, with market prices reaching millions, underscoring his enduring influence on both art and popular culture.