Following fifty years of public silence, a Vietnamese freelance photographer has claimed to have taken one of the most famous and influential images of the 20th century: the picture of a nude girl escaping a napalm attack in South Vietnam, which has long been attributed to an Associated Press staff photographer.
On the sidelines of the new documentary The Stringer’s Saturday night Sundance Film Festival debut in Park City, Utah, Nguyen Thanh Nghe claimed authorship of the Pulitzer Prize-winning shot of the napalm girl.
According to the AP’s own research, there is no reason to believe that the image was not taken by Nick Ut, the long-credited photographer. The news agency expressed surprise and disappointment at the way the filmmakers presented it as dismissive and having evaluated the film’s materials. The AP claimed to have seen the movie at Sundance for the first time.
During the post-screening Q&A with the filmmakers, Nghe said, “I took the photo through a translator.” The audience gave a hearty cheer. He did not explain why he held off on making the assertion for so long.
The AP stated that while it will evaluate the content, it would like to talk to Nghe and other collaborators who signed nondisclosure agreements for the filmmakers. It is impossible to overstate that The Associated Press is solely concerned with the facts and an accurate history of this famous image.
Examining a picture taken in the haze of combat
Nghe claims that on June 8, 1972, he captured the famous image of Kim Phuc. Nghe claimed that while driving for an NBC news crew in the town of Trang Bang that day, he saw Phuc running down the street, screaming, naked, and holding out his arms. He claimed that after selling the AP his picture for $20, they provided him a print of the picture, which his wife subsequently destroyed.
AP representatives who attended the film’s screening on Saturday are disputing the movie’s suggestion that the firm looked over their results and rejected them.
According to Lauren Easton, an AP spokesman, on Sunday, “We reiterated our request to see the filmmakers’ full materials as recently as December and they did not respond, nor did they include AP’s full response in the film.” The movie presented AP as having examined the film’s contents and dismissing the accusations, which is wholly untrue, which shocked and saddened us.
In 2017, Ut left the AP to retire.
The VII Foundation’s founder, Gary Knight, and producer Fiona Turner conducted the film’s investigation as a husband and wife partnership. The director is Vietnamese American Bao Nguyen.
Nguyen declared, “By no means am I a journalist.” As I believe everyone would, I had a healthy skepticism about a truth that has been known for 53 years. However, I believed that being able to elevate the stories of people like Nghe was both my luxury and my duty as a filmmaker and storyteller.
AP conducted an independent investigation.
The AP did its own six-month investigation before seeing the movie and came to the conclusion that it had no cause to suspect anyone other than Ut snapped the picture. The AP is now urging the filmmakers to remove the nondisclosure clauses they imposed on their subjects so that the organization can conduct a more thorough investigation.
According to Easton, the AP is prepared to examine any new information or supporting documentation regarding this picture.
In June of last year, Knight and Turner met with AP in London to discuss the accusations. Before releasing their proof, the filmmakers asked the news outlet to sign a nondisclosure agreement, the AP reported. AP wouldn’t. The movie implies that the AP was shown evidence, something the AP denies.
Carl Robinson, an AP photo editor in Saigon at the time, is one of the film’s key sources. Horst Faas, AP’s chief of photographs in Saigon, overruled Robinson’s decision not to use the image. In the movie, Robinson claims that Faas told him to make it staff and give Ut credit for the picture. Yuichi Jackson Ishizaki, the film’s developer, and Faas are both deceased. In 1978, the AP fired Robinson at the age of 81.
A moderator at the Sundance Institute questioned him on Saturday about why he felt the need to make the accusations at this time. After the showing, Robinson informed the crowd, “I didn’t want to die before this story came out.” I wanted to apologize and find (Nghe).
Numerous witnesses who spoke to AP, including well-known reporters Fox Butterfield and Peter Arnett as well as the subject of the photo, Phuc, claim they are positive that Ut took the picture.
The documentary featured the scene’s forensics.
During their investigation, the AP tried to get in touch with Robinson, but they were told they could only do so under restrictions that they claimed would have made it impossible for them to act quickly if needed.
The research for the movie took more than two years. A French forensics team called INDEX was brought in by the journalists to help them assess the possibility that Ut was in a position to capture the picture. The forensics team came to the conclusion that Ut couldn’t have done it.
Following the premiere on Sunday, Ut’s lawyer, James Hornstein, stated: “We will eventually make amends in a courtroom where Nick Ut’s reputation will be upheld.”
Knight informed the audience that the company’s statement is accessible online and cited the AP’s research on Saturday. They stated that they are always willing to look into the truth. Knight added, “I think it was a very reasonable thing to say.” Our narrative is now out for everyone to see.
“In the heat of the moment, things happen in the field,” he continued. Asking hard questions, being upfront and honest about what happens in our field, and examining ourselves all make us stronger. I would argue more now than ever before.
There are currently no distribution plans for the Stringer.
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See https://apnews.com/hub/sundance-film-festival for additional coverage of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.
