Mo & Me (2006)

Salim Amin, son and only child of Mohamed "Mo" Amin, undertakes a journey of recollection and reflection into the life of the frequently absent, globe-trotting father he loved, revered and feared. In his late teens, Mohamed Amin abandons his studies to pursue a career in photography which, over the course of thirty years, will turn him into a front-line cameraman extraordinaire - and, arguably, the most renowned photojournalist of his era. Training his candid lens across continents, Mo Amin's thirst for breaking news puts him repeatedly in harm's way - enduring weeks of torture, automatic arms fire, explosives and, ultimately, the amputation of his left arm - to become one of the most decorated news camera-man of all time. The documentary depicts Mo as an unbending, unforgiving and unapologetically rambunctious paterfamilias whose hunger for "the story" propels him to ever greater professional heights - often at the expense of those he cherishes. The 96-minute film is underpinned by extraordinary images from the vast Amin archive - currently available at World Picture Network in New York. The stills mark and frame Mo's life as it unfolds in a vivid and, at times, grisly tableau of international politics. Fuelled by a potent mixture of talent and ambition, Mo's stubborn courage, innate resilience and wily perseverance loom large as he encounters horror and brutality in the course of his indefatigable quest to inform, alert and chronicle.