The Latest Films

All the films
Imitating Life | The Audacity of Suzanne Heintz - cover 16:9
67’
Imitating Life | The Audacity of Suzanne Heintz

Suzanne Heintz dismantles the myth of the perfect family.

Paul Kodjo | I Remain a Photographer - cover 16:9
67’
Paul Kodjo | I Remain a Photographer

Saving an œuvre, bringing post-independence Abidjan back to life.

Davide Monteleone | Anima russa - cover 16:9
26’
Davide Monteleone | Anima russa

Photographing Russia, beyond appearances.

Christine Spengler | The Spenglers - cover 16:9
88’
Christine Spengler | The Spenglers

Photographing war, revealing the intimate.

Pounding the Pavement - cover 16:9
24’
Pounding the Pavement

Six photographers, six ways of exploring Montreal and revealing what its streets have to offer.

 

Giovanni Gastel | The Search for the Absolute - cover 16:9
28’
Giovanni Gastel | The Search for the Absolute

To photograph fashion without ever stopping at appearances. 

Bert Stern | Original Madman - cover 16:9
87’
Bert Stern I Original Madman

The man who wanted to see everything, desire everything, photograph everything.

Sylvain Granjon | Les Zidiomatiks - cover 16:9
26’
Sylvain Granjon | Les Zidiomatiks

Sylvain Granjon makes words stumble so he can turn them into images.

Rebels - cover 16:9
84’
Rebels

Three artists, united by the same urgency for freedom.

Marcel Mochet | Journey to the End of the Seas - cover 16:9
51’
Marcel Mochet | Journey to the End of the Seas

A photographic journey into the lives of those who work at sea.

Documentaries about photography, and about the people who make it. 
You can try it free for 7 days.

What you’ll find

Portraits of photographers, names everyone knows and others you’ll discover here. Films about street photography, war, fashion or portraiture, about printing and historical processes. About the trades of photography too. And then suggestions for going further, with Focuses, articles, interviews, bibliographies.

A small independent team

Documentaries about photography were rarely shown on television, and hardly at all on streaming platforms. We created The Darkroom Rumour to give them a place of their own. We are a small team, and we choose every film ourselves, with no school to defend.

Inspire your photography

In these films, you see photographers at work, in the field as well as in the darkroom. If you take pictures, you’ll often come away with an idea to try. If you simply like looking at images, you may start to see them differently.

How it works 

You can watch the films online, anywhere in the world, on a computer, tablet or phone, and on TV by mirroring your phone’s or computer’s screen. Every film is available in French and English, with no ads. New releases come out on Saturday or Sunday. The trial lasts 7 days, and if you stop before day 8, you pay nothing.

The Darkroom Rumour on a TV, a computer, a tablet and a phone
Start your free trial

In Focus | Latin America

The City of Photographers - cover 16:9
80’
The City of Photographers

An essential reflection on the role played by photography during wars.

Foto Estudio Luisita - cover 16:9
74’
Foto Estudio Luisita

A rediscovered archive, capturing the golden age of Argentine entertainment.

Enrique Metinides | The Man Who Saw Too Much - cover 16:9
88’
Enrique Metinides | The Man Who Saw Too Much

Metinides’s world: fragile, brutal, magnetic.

Herman Puig | My Life, My Mental Nude - cover 16:9
27’
Herman Puig|My Life, My Mental Nude

The Cuban Mapplethorpe • A pioneer of male nudes.

All the films

The Showstoppers

William Eggleston | By the Ways - cover 16:9
86’
William Eggleston|By the Ways

The mythical colours of William Eggleston • The singularity of a photographic vision that has left its mark on history.

Willy Ronis, Self-Portrait of a Photographer - cover 16:9
55’
Willy Ronis, Self-Portrait of a Photographer

A photographic legend reflects on his life and art.

Harry Gruyaert, photographer - cover 16:9
65’
Harry Gruyaert, photographer

A master of colour at work...

Searching for Gerda Taro - cover 16:9
57’
Searching for Gerda Taro

A woman in the shadow of photography's history.

Catherine Leroy | Cathy at War - cover 16:9
70’
Catherine Leroy|Cathy at War

One of the first women to photograph the Vietnam War.

Anders Petersen | Without Longing No Image - cover 16:9
56’
Anders Petersen|Without Longing No Image

An immersion into the daily life of a major photographer.

Harold Feinstein | Last Stop Coney Island - cover 16:9
88’
Harold Feinstein | Last Stop Coney Island

An intimate glimpse into the life and legacy of an acclaimed street photographer.

Koudelka: Shooting Holy Land - cover 16:9
72’
Koudelka: Shooting Holy Land

The art of photography in a terrain of historical tensions.

Elliott Erwitt, Silence Sounds Good - cover 16:9
61’
Elliott Erwitt, Silence Sounds Good

An intimate and touching portrait of a photography legend.

What Remains: The Life and Work of Sally Mann - cover 16:9
80’
What Remains: The Life and Work of Sally Mann

An icon of American photography, a life and work that are one...

Robert Frank | Leaving Home, Coming Home - cover 16:9
85’
Robert Frank | Leaving Home, Coming Home

The transformative power of photography in life's chapters.

Saul Leiter | In No Great Hurry - cover 16:9
75’
Saul Leiter | In No Great Hurry

Unveiling the art and life lessons of a photography legend.

Under 30 minutes

Kiana Hayeri | Iran No Filter #01 - cover 16:9
4’
Kiana Hayeri | Iran No Filter #01

Iranian youth seen from the inside.

Jane Evelyn Atwood | Around Pigalle - cover 16:9
movie category
27’
Jane Evelyn Atwood | Around Pigalle

Delving into the lives and streets of Pigalle through Atwood's eyes.

Frédéric Fontenoy | Inside - cover 16:9
movie category
25’
Frédéric Fontenoy | Inside

Delving into the 1930s-inspired world of Frédéric Fontenoy's erotic art.

Crime Scenes (How to become a forensic photographer) - cover 16:9
movie category
23’
Crime Scenes (How to become a forensic photographer)

Capturing clues: The unseen art of forensic photography.

Gilbert Fastenaekens, photographer - cover 16:9
11’
Gilbert Fastenaekens, photographer

Photography as an escape

Oliviero Toscani in Oliviero Toscani - cover 16:9
25’
Oliviero Toscani in Oliviero Toscani

When advertising becomes a visual weapon, between provocation, political awareness, and unapologetic scandal.

Lorenzo Castore W - cover
20’
Lorenzo Castore | W

A powerful combination of photographs and super-8 images.

Stefano De Luigi | Syria Street - cover 16:9
25’
Stefano De Luigi | Syria Street

Stefano De Luigi photographs a street in Tripoli where war has divided two neighborhoods, two sides, two everyday lives.

David Bonnier & Marc Hallet | Profession: Food photographer - cover 16:9
movie category
15’
David Bonnier & Marc Hallet | Profession: Food photographer

Savour the art where cuisine meets lens and taste meets vision.

Jan Groover | An Intimate Portrait - cover 16:9
18’
Jan Groover|An Intimate Portrait

A forgotten figure in photographic history, mesmerizing still lifes.

An introduction to the Art and Work of Sidony Cloud - cover 16:9
8’
An introduction to the Art and Work of Sidony Cloud

Collage as a simple, lively, and free way of seeing differently.

Ian Berry, Lucky Number 13 - cover 16:9
8’
Ian Berry, Lucky Number 13

Documenting life under Apartheid.

Anne Geddes | Photographer - cover 16:9
26’
Anne Geddes | Photographer

Behind the scenes of a meticulously crafted tableau that shaped the visual imagination of the 1990s.

Lady Tarin | Next Girl - cover 16:9
29’
Lady Tarin | Next Girl

An intimate immersion into a female gaze that reimagines nudity as an act of freedom and empowerment.

Masters of Photography

Latif Al-Ani | Iraq’s Invisible Beauty - cover 16:9
86’
Latif Al-Ani | Iraq’s Invisible Beauty

A moving pilgrimage into Iraq before the disaster: a portrait of an erased golden age.

Roger Kasparian | The Eye of the 60s - cover 16:9
54’
Roger Kasparian|The Eye of the 60s

The greatest musicians of the ’60s, on the brink of fame • A genius of portraiture.

Duane Michals | The Man Who Invented Himself - cover 16:9
85’
Duane Michals|The Man Who Invented Himself

A sensitive and vibrant conceptual photography.

Still Not There, Arno Rafael Minkkinen - cover 16:9
50’
Still Not There, Arno Rafael Minkkinen

Nude, natural, and nuanced: The art of Arno Rafael Minkkinen.

Gabor - cover 16:9
101’
Gabor

A humanist photographer, a chronicler of his times.

Joel-Peter & Jerome Witkin | Witkin & Witkin - cover 16:9
97’
Joel-Peter & Jerome Witkin | Witkin & Witkin

Twin brothers, two radical bodies of work: an intimate face-to-face between painting, photography and family memory.

Sabine Weiss: One Century of Photography - cover 16:9
57’
Sabine Weiss: One Century of Photography

An immense, eclectic and above all highly personal record of a bygone century.

Tom Wood | Five Days With Tom - cover 16:9
31’
Tom Wood | Five Days With Tom

The "unsung genius of British photography."

Ara Güler, Once Upon a Time Istanbul - cover 16:9
51’
Ara Güler, Once Upon a Time Istanbul

A city immortalized through the eyes of a master photographer.

Bettina Rheims, My Life - cover 16:9
43’
Bettina Rheims, My Life

From conception to print: Bettina Rheims' photographic legacy.

Susan Meiselas | Voyages - cover 16:9
42’
Susan Meiselas | Voyages

A critical view on documentary photography.

Letizia Battaglia | Amore Amaro - cover 16:9
27’
Letizia Battaglia|Amore Amaro

A photographer against the mafia, a life of resistance, a sensitive and sharp eye.

Michael Kenna | Photographer - cover 16:9
26’
Michael Kenna | Photographer

Night, long exposures, minimalism: letting the world enter the frame.

Antoine d’Agata | The Cambodian Room - cover 16:9
55’
Antoine d’Agata | The Cambodian Room

In a Phnom Penh room, photography confronts its own limits.

Dolorès Marat | Dolorès - cover 16:9
movie category
70’
Dolorès Marat | Dolorès

Delving into the essence of photography through an artistic lens.

Understand the Craft

The cyanotype (with maté) by Carlos Barrantes - cover 16:9
movie category
34’
The cyanotype (with maté) by Carlos Barrantes

Mastering the delicate dance of cyanotype creation.

Guillaume Geneste & Sabine Weiss | Quick Silver 1 - cover 16:9
25’
Guillaume Geneste & Sabine Weiss|Quick Silver 1

Subtle shifts in contrast to completely transform an image.

Gian Paolo Barbieri | The Art of Artifice - cover 16:9
25’
Gian Paolo Barbieri | The Art of Artifice

From fashion images to late nudes: the craft of staging.

Selina Mayer | A Film On Film - cover 16:9
5’
Selina Mayer | A Film On Film

A cinematic circle: Photographing the photographer's instinct.

Patrick Bouteloup & Didier Le Tumelin | Profession: Framer - cover 16:9
movie category
18’
Patrick Bouteloup & Didier Le Tumelin |Profession: Framer

Behind every masterpiece, a framer’s thoughtful craft.

Platinum-Palladium printing by Carlos Barrantes - cover 16:9
movie category
27’
Platinum-Palladium printing by Carlos Barrantes

Everything you always wanted to know about platinum/palladium printing…

Guillaume Geneste & Bernard Plossu - cover
23’
Guillaume Geneste & Bernard Plossu|Quick Silver 2

The magic of analog printing • The shamanic gestures of dodging and burning.

Lomig Perrotin | The World's Smallest Film Company - cover 16:9
movie category
26’
Lomig Perrotin | The World's Smallest Film Company

A tale of artisanal film-making in the heart of a small kitchen.

Sara Imloul | Das Schloss - cover 16:9
movie category
25’
Sara Imloul | Das Schloss

The art of calotype: Reviving historical photographic methods.

Roland Dufau | Cibachrome Printer - cover 16:9
movie category
21’
Roland Dufau | Cibachrome Printer

Discover the lost art of Cibachrome in this revealing journey.

The Platino-Chrome by Carlos Barrantes - cover 16:9
movie category
28’
The Platino-Chrome by Carlos Barrantes

A fusion of tradition and innovation in photographic craft.

Thomas Devaux | The Shoppers - cover 16:9
23’
Thomas Devaux | The Shoppers

A film about the making of an image, from captured reality to its transformation.

Hors-Champs: Meeting Fred Goyeau - cover 16:9
15’
Hors-Champs: Meeting Fred Goyeau

Unveiling the Secrets of a Darkroom Master's Craft.

The Workshop | The Fresson Process - cover 16:9
movie category
50’
The Workshop | The Fresson Process

A journey through time with the Fresson's unique printing process.

Diamantino Quintas | The Darkroom Masters - cover 16:9
movie category
22’
Diamantino Quintas | The Darkroom Masters

In Quintas' darkroom, every silver print tells a profound story.

Pure Inspiration

Herman Selleslags | Life Will Give You Pictures - cover 16:9
73’
Herman Selleslags | Life Will Give You Pictures

Thousands of images, a life to unveil.

Off Limits - cover 16:9
61’
Off Limits

Gilbert Duclos’s fight to preserve the freedom to photograph the street.

Hans Hamid | Stitches of My Story - cover 16:9
18’
Hans Hamid|Stitches of My Story

A reconciled identity • Creativity as a source of healing.

A Flemish Photography | The Naked Belgian - cover 16:9
51’
A Flemish Photography|The Naked Belgian

Belgian people reveal themselves under the lens of six photographers...

Bernard Plossu | Snapshots - cover 16:9
15’
Bernard Plossu | Snapshots

Capturing the essence of everyday life through Plossu's lens.

Foc Kan, Night of the Hunter - cover 16:9
movie category
13’
Foc Kan, Night of the Hunter

Capturing the ephemeral: Foc Kan's take on Parisian nightlife.

Gilbert Garcin: Anything Could Happen... - cover 16:9
52’
Gilbert Garcin: Anything Could Happen...

Garcin proves it's never too late for artistic success.

Louis Stettner | In Memory’s Light - cover 16:9
23’
Louis Stettner | In Memory’s Light

Walking Paris with Louis Stettner, chasing the everyday light of memory.

Under the Cover of Darkness | Michael Flomen - cover 16:9
27’
Under the Cover of Darkness | Michael Flomen

Artist Michael Flomen works with a very special darkroom: nature and night.

Sylvain Granjon | Les Zidiomatiks - cover 16:9
26’
Sylvain Granjon | Les Zidiomatiks

Sylvain Granjon makes words stumble so he can turn them into images.

Martin Bogren | August Song - cover 16:9
6’
Martin Bogren|August Song

Sensuality of the body, a poetic approach to country life.

Jean Hermanson | The Celestial Darkroom - cover 16:9
77’
Jean Hermanson | The Celestial Darkroom

A major yet little-known photographic legacy...

Michael Ackerman & Lorenzo Castore | Sing Your Song Boy - cover 16:9
25’
Michael Ackerman & Lorenzo Castore | Sing Your Song Boy

A strongly inspired and poetic photography.

Franco Fontana | Creative Horizon - cover 16:9
28’
Franco Fontana | Creative Horizon

Color as an act of framing: Franco Fontana, from landscape to abstraction.

Image rights and street photography
Gilbert Duclos by Gilbert Duclos

Image rights and street photography

linked to Off Limits

Nearly thirty years after La rue zone interdite, Gilbert Duclos reflects on what continues to sustain his street photography practice. Between the freedom to photograph, the legal issues surrounding image rights in Quebec, an ethics of looking, and an enduring attachment to public space, he shares a…