Ernest Withers. A million images. One big secret.

THE PICTURE TAKER

A film by Phil Bertelsen

The vibrant life of Ernest Withers was anything but black and white. Soldier, policeman, family man, and paid FBI informant—an unlikely resume for an African American photographer in 1960s Memphis, but complex times spawn complicated stories.

Withers developed over a million images that came to define America’s civil rights struggle. His lesser known work: decades of secret FBI service uncovered only after his death. From the flashpoint of an American saga, THE PICTURE TAKER is a tale from in front of, and behind the camera.

© The Withers Family Trust

Join us for this unique screening of THE PICTURE TAKER, followed by a post-screening talkback with our host Cecil Williams, a famed civil rights photographer whose work showcases the movement in South Carolina and whose eponymous Orangeburg-based Cecil Williams South Carolina Civil Rights Museum highlights the history, struggles, and achievements of SC civil rights pioneers.  

Cecil Williams (center) of the Cecil Williams South Carolina Civil Rights Museum

special HBCU student discount available - please contact us at support@luminaltheater.org for details

ALL ticket sales will be donated to the Cecil Williams South Carolina Civil Rights Museum

BLK Docs, begun by Speller Street Films and The Luminal Theater, is an initiative to help build an authentic documentary film culture within the African-American community through film screenings, webinars, and more interactive film events. See more about this program at BLKdocs.com

THE PICTURE TAKER is a co-production of Picture Taker, LLC, Realization Pictures, ITVS, and Black Public Media with funding provided by the CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING (CPB), in association with K2 Pictures and Ark Media.

Additional funding provided by: Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, JustFilms | Ford Foundation, John and Maryellen Riley, The Philadelphia Foundation, The Better Angels Society.