Tim Hetherington, Oscar-nominated filmmaker and renowned war photographer died in a mortar attack today in Misurata, as tensions continued to escalate in Libya, the New York Times and other news agencies reported.
Misurata, one of Libya’s largest cities has been the scene of intense combat over the course of the past three weeks as rebel fighters continue to squelch Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s military forces believed responsible for the deaths of hundreds of civilians.
Hetherington was working on the frontlines alongside a group of journalists and photographers including Chris Hondros, staffed by the Getty photo agency. Early reports were unclear if Hondros, also wounded in the attack, was alive, underscoring the fluidity of the environment for journalists who have filed reports in Libya over the course of the past few weeks.
Hondros’ photography has appeared in nearly every major American magazine and newspaper and has recently covered conflicts in Afghanistan and Libya.
Hetherington is no stranger to conflict photography, having spent the better part of the last decade capturing stirring photographic evidence of war in West Africa and across the globe.
Most shocking about today’s events is Hetherington’s documentary film, ‘Restrepo’ which is fresh off a successful film festival campaign that has garnered positive reactions from film critics and put a spotlight on American ground combat with the Taliban in remote corners of Afghanistan’s.
Co-directed with Sebastian Junger, ‘Restrepo’ gained notoriety for its apolitical, fearless and visually perceptive portrayal of the 2nd Platoon, hunkered down in remote Afghanistan mountains as they skirmished with unseen enemy forces for over a year.
As American feature cinema outside of ‘The Hurt Locker’ repeatedly failed to capture the honesty and reality of U.S. combat in Afghanistan and Iraq — ‘Restrepo’ became a successful, nonpartisan story of Afghanistan’s “ghost war” which still remains a heated topic amongst editorial circles and television cable news pundits.
The New Yorker issued a tribute for Hetherington’s expansive body of work here and Vanity Fair’s tribute can be read here.
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