Never Look Away – Hot Docs 2023

Lucy Lawless directs this biography of New Zealand-born CNN camerawoman Margaret Moth in Never Look Away. Margaret Moth was the first female camera operator from television in New Zealand, who began working for CNN in 1990. Beginning with coverage of Desert Storm in Kuwait, Moth approached covering war with fearlessness. Even after getting shot by a sniper in Sarajevo, resulting in the complete reconstruction of her jaw, Margaret Moth would continue covering war until her death from cancer in 2010.

Never Look Away Synopsis

Best known as Xena: Warrior Princess, Lucy Lawless makes her directorial debut with this biographical documentary about fellow New Zealandite Margaret Moth. In addition to her career covering wars for CNN, Never Look Away talks about Margaret Moth's relationships with Jeff Russi and French sound recordist Yaschinka, both of which involved heavy drug use. However, war was the ultimate drug for Magaret Moth, who was unafraid to put herself in danger to show the story in the raw.

My Thoughts on Never Look Away

While many will probably be attracted to Never Look Away by the fact that Lucy Lawless directs it, the film is a solid biography of Margaret Moth. Lawless decided to tell Margaret Moth's story predominantly from the recollection of the people who knew her, with the film featuring very little archival footage of Moth speaking. Instead, Margaret's Moth legacy comes from the war coverage that she continued to shoot, even after being shot and losing her ability to legibly speak.