Ron Howard’s 104-Minute 'Avedon' Wins Admiring Cannes Review as Documentary Seeks U.S. Distribution
Updated
Updated · Hollywood Reporter · May 17
Ron Howard’s 104-Minute 'Avedon' Wins Admiring Cannes Review as Documentary Seeks U.S. Distribution
6 articles · Updated · Hollywood Reporter · May 17
Ron Howard’s 1-hour-44-minute documentary drew an admiring Cannes review for portraying Richard Avedon as a relentless, contradictory artist whose work and life were inseparable.
Archival footage and roughly two dozen interviews trace how Avedon reshaped fashion photography—injecting movement, theatricality and moral purpose from 1947 Paris shoots to stark white-background portraits.
The film also highlights his broader social reach, including 1959 images that made China Machado the first model of color in a major U.S. fashion magazine’s editorial pages.
Howard acknowledges criticism of projects such as "Nothing Personal" and "In the American West," but the review says the foundation-backed film remains an affectionate, largely official portrait.
Premiering in Cannes special screenings, "Avedon" is still seeking U.S. distribution while positioning the photographer’s legacy as central to both magazine-era fashion and American portraiture.
Did Richard Avedon’s photos create timeless art or pave the way for today's disposable content culture?
What secrets of celebrity and power, captured by Avedon's lens, does this new documentary finally reveal?
Why is Ron Howard's film about a photography legend struggling for a US release in the streaming era?