A Camera That Goes Anywhere

A CAMERA THAT GOES ANYWHERE reveals the untold story of how five visionary filmmakers—Richard Leacock, D.A. Pennebaker, Robert Drew, Terence Macartney-Filgate, and Albert Maysles—came together in the late 1950s to create a revolutionary "new cinema language" that would transform documentary filmmaking forever.

The film traces their groundbreaking collaboration on "PRIMARY" (1960), which captured the Wisconsin Democratic primary battle between John F. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey using innovative handheld cameras synchronized with portable sound recorders. Their five-day shoot launched American cinéma vérité, but the journey from conception to recognition was far from smooth—initially rejected by American networks, the film found acclaim in France through Henri Langlois at the Cinémathèque française.

Director Jane Weiner draws from 35 years of intimate conversations with these cinema pioneers, offering unprecedented access to their creative process and personal reflections. Her film, originally titled “La caméra passe-partout”, comes from Richard Leacock's 1959 article in Cahiers du Cinema, where he first articulated his aesthetic vision for this new form of observational filmmaking.

The documentary not only chronicles history but challenges viewers to reconsider their understanding of it. In a remarkable footnote to the story, a rare 16mm print of Leacock's shortened 26-minute version was discovered in Paris archives in 2010 and beautifully restored to 4K digital, bringing this pivotal work full circle.

A CAMERA THAT GOES ANYWHERE captures a defining moment in cinema history when documentary filmmaking broke free from its scripted constraints and entered the real world. The innovations developed by these five filmmakers—portable sync-sound equipment, handheld cameras, and observational techniques—didn't just influence documentaries; they fundamentally changed how all films could be made.

The film preserves firsthand accounts from the creators of cinéma vérité at a crucial historical moment. These conversations, spanning over three decades, offer irreplaceable insights into the creative and technical challenges that shaped modern documentary practice. From Barbara Kopple (Harlan County, USA), Frederick Marx (Hoop Dreams), Agnès Varda (The Gleaners and I), to the Dardenne brothers (Rosetta), countless filmmakers today employ techniques pioneered by this group

By documenting the initial rejection and eventual recognition of "PRIMARY," the film also tells the broader story of artistic innovation—how revolutionary ideas often face resistance before transforming their medium. The discovery and restoration of Leacock's version fifty years later demonstrates cinema's ongoing dialogue between past and present, technology and artistry.

For contemporary filmmakers working with digital tools that realize the portability dreams of these pioneers, the documentary serves as both historical education and creative inspiration, showing how technical innovation serves storytelling and how persistence in artistic vision can reshape an entire art form.

Cinéma du Réel - Paris (2011) Work-in-Progress screening
Cinequest Film Festival - San Jose, CA World Premiere (2012)
Aired for 5 years on Ciné + (Canal Plus), France (La Caméra Passe Partout)