The entire crowd at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall was on their feet on Friday evening after the credits played for Laura Poitras’ stunning documentary All The Beauty And The Bloodshed. Though standing ovations have been far from uncommon throughout the sixteen days of the festival, this one was particularly special. Not only was the crowd applauding Poitras, they were also clapping for Nan, and some members of P.A.I.N. (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now), the group that she started that’s helping to fight the opioid crisis and remove the Sackler name and funding from a variety of places. Goldin, who rose from the New York “No Wave” underground to become one of the great photographers of the late 20th century, put herself at the forefront of the battle against the Sacklers, both as an activist at art institutions around the world that had accepted millions from the family and as an advocate for the de-stigmatization of drug addiction.
Separated into chapters and switching back and forth between two narratives, the film focuses on the then and now of the life of esteemed photographer Nan Goldin. Nan’s life has been far from ordinary, and half of the film focuses on the way her life was as she grew up, come of age, and built a life for herself in the seventies and eighties. Primarily, her close relationship with all of the friends she made throughout the years and how her life experiences influenced her work. The chapters in between take place in modern day, as Nan works with the members of P.A.I.N. to stage protests in museums throughout the city, primarily the Guggenheim and The Met, who both removed the Sackler name from parts of the museums and are no longer receiving funding from them.
The film was beautiful, and the mix of both past and present in Nan’s life created a portrait of an incredible life, one that is both heart wrenching and heart warming. The chapters that the film is separated into each begin with a “slide show” photographic sequence or archival footage of a period of Goldin’s life and then transitions to footage of her more recent protests with P.A.I.N. The slideshow are based on Goldin’s own work, as she would often create slideshows early on in her career, which were so loved because of how unique they were, as they were often taken of people simply living their lives and were not often posed.
We had the incredible opportunity to speak with Laura and some members of P.A.I.N, check out the conversation below and hear more about Nan here!