ROBERT RICHARDSON: THE WHITE DEVIL
Robert Richardson (AFI Class of 1979) is one of the most decorated cinematographers of the past 40 years, having worked with the likes of Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Oliver Stone, Penelope Spheeris and Robert Redford, among others. He is one of only three living people who have won the Academy Award® for Best Cinematography three times (the others being Vittorio Storaro and Emmanuel Lubezki). Such an impressive career alone would be justification enough to make a documentary about Richardson, but young Czech filmmaker (and fellow cinematographer) Jana Hojdovà was more concerned with his complex relationships on and off the set, his creative vision and his overall approach to life itself. In fact, it was these questions that spurred Richardson to agree to participate in the documentary. Though the film showcases Richardson’s raw talent, thanks to both archival footage and new interviews with Scorsese, Tarantino and Stone, it is far from a hagiographic portrait of an artist — after all, Richardson is not nicknamed “the white devil” for nothing. Yet in portraying the drama, single-mindedness and self-indulgence that Richardson is prone to, Hojdovà takes a nuanced look at the real human being who composed some of the most iconic visuals in cinematic history. Credit is due to Hojdovà, then a graduate student at Prague’s famed film school FAMU, for having the courage and passion to take on the white devil himself for her feature debut. –Abbie Algar
Official Selection, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. DIR/SCR/PROD Jana Hojdovà; SCR Giordano Bonora Groome, Elisa Bonora; PROD Matěj Chlupáček, Nela Schlaichertová. Czech Republic/U.S., 2026, color, 106 min. NOT RATED
Run Time: 106 Minutes
Opening Date: Friday, December 11, 2026
Genre: Documentary
