“Love+War,” a National Geographic documentary that explores the life of Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Lynsey Addario, was released Friday on Disney+ and Hulu. Directed by Oscar winning directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, the film, which premiered on Sept. 7 at the Toronto International Film Festival and had a limited theatrical release on Oct. 29, captures Addario’s life as a war photographer and mother.
Born and raised in Westport, Conn., Addario has produced some of the most influential war photographs by capturing conflicts such as the Iraq war and unrest in Libya. In 2015, American Photo Magazine named her one of the five most influential photojournalists, and said she changed the way the world views conflict.
Addario received two Pulitzer Prizes, one from her coverage in Afghanistan and Pakistan with a New York Times team in 2009, and one in 2023 for her coverage of the war in Ukraine. Her award-winning photography is admired by photographers.
“She is very successful in a field that is still thought of primarily as a man’s job,” said university professor and photographer Dean Pagani.
“She is a photographer who seeks out the human story behind conflict. She does not focus solely on the fighting in a war zone, for example. She seeks out the damage that results to innocents as a result of war,” Pagani said. “Beyond coverage of conflicts, she is concerned about humanity as a whole and continues to seek opportunities to cover tragedies we inflict upon ourselves through the imposition of injustice in all its forms.”
In an interview with Variety, Addario explained her reasoning behind wanting to release the documentary.
“I’ve been approached a fair amount since (I was) kidnapped in Libya (in 2011) to either be part of a larger documentary on war photographers or to be part of a series,” she said. “I think I hesitated for various reasons. One, it felt very narcissistic. Then I kept seeing movies, both fictional and documentaries, being made on war photographers, and they were often focused on men.”
“At some point, I felt like it was important to have a woman in that role so that younger women and people in general can see that women also do this,” Addario said.
The documentary begins with footage from Feb. 19, 2022, five days before the Russian invasion in Eastern Ukraine. It continues with Addario taking photos during the invasion, surrounded by the sound of sirens, unrest, destroyed buildings and panicked families.
One moment captures Addario saying, “Oh, Jesus,” as she photographs a person kneeling over a body covered in a bloody sheet, capturing a moment of deep grief and emotion. In the midst of chaos, Addario continues to take photos that would later be published and define the conflict in Ukraine, such as one that appeared on the front page of the New York Times showing a family that, in an attempt to flee the country, was killed by Russian mortar fire. She received her second Pulitzer Prize for this photo.
A few days later, Addario returns to her family in London in time for one of her son’s performances. While laying down trying to get one of her son’s to fall asleep, she says, “Oh my God, kids are so much harder than war.”
“She does not give up. She knows the risks,” Pagani said. “She has come close to losing her life on the job, yet she continues to go out and pursue the story.”
