Jürgen Schadeberg, whose career spans more than 65 years, has been called the father of South African photography. Schadeberg grew up in Nazi Germany and volunteered as a photographer for the German Press Agency after WWII. In 1950, hoping to escape the fascist atmosphere he was exposed to during the war, he emigrated to South Africa from Berlin at age 19. He quickly discovered he had arrived at beginning of yet another era of harsh discrimination, this time in the form of Apartheid.

He became chief photographer, picture editor, and art director at Drum Magazine, one of the only publications that catered specifically to the African population. It was there that he helped teach an entire generation of South African photographers including 2010’s Cornell Capa Lifetime Achievement award recipient, Peter Magubane.

During the 1950s, he documented pivotal moments in the struggle against Apartheid. He photographed key political figures including Nelson Mandela, Dr. Moroka, Walter Sisulu, and Yusuf Dadoo as well as jazz and literary stars Dolly Rathebe, Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, Kippie Moeketsi, and many others. In addition to documenting the divide created by Apartheid, he spent much of his time documenting daily life in South African communities.

Schadeberg left South Africa for London in 1964. From then until his return in 1985, he served as a freelance photojournalist for leading publications in Europe and America; taught at the New School in New York, the Central School of Art & Design in London, and the Hoch Kunst School in Hamburg; and curated several exhibitions, including “The Quality of Life” at New National Theatre Complex in London. His work has been exhibited widely, including in a major retrospective at the South African National Gallery in Cape Town in 1996. In 2007, Schadeberg was awarded the Officer’s Verdienstkreuz First Class by the German President. He now divides his time between Berlin, Paris, South Africa, and Spain and continues to actively work on new photographic projects, books, and exhibitions.

Since 1985, the International Center of Photography has recognized outstanding achievements in photography with its prestigious Infinity Awards. The awards ceremony is also ICP’s primary fundraising benefit, with its revenues assisting the center's various programs.

Harbers Studios commissioned MediaStorm, on behalf of ICP, to create a short film about each of the recipients to screen at the awards ceremony and to later remain online. The films serve as an introduction of the recipients to the audience as well as a showcase of their work, highlighting the motivations for honoring them with Infinity Awards.

Jurgen Schadeberg’s works spans over 65 years and includes a vast subject matter. He has multiple archives and has published several books on what he has seen since he started his career as a photographer. Mr. Schadeberg’s files were readily available to us and he and his wife, Claudia, were incredibly helpful in providing their high resolution scans to us in a timely manner. The primary obstacle for this project was figuring out how to narrow down 65 years worth of work and incredible stories into a short film.

Another challenge was that fact that Jurgen and Claudia Schadeberg live in Valencia, Spain, and weren’t able to travel to New York before our project deadline.

However, we were able to send our team to Valencia to shoot the interview and spend time documenting the award recipient at his home. This proved extremely helpful in the editing process in terms of content.

MediaStorm worked intensively on the transcript of Mr. Schadeberg’s interview. Every time we made a cut of the interview, we would be sure to keep in as many stories as possible, and whittle down more and more at each review. We ended up with several stories that not only paint a picture of Mr. Schadeberg’s life story, but reveal his kind, warm (and often times humorous) demeanor.

The result is a portrait of a historically significant photographer who has been making significant portraits for his entire career. Mr. Schadeberg talks about both the tragedy and the beauty he has seen and provides the viewer with a unique and hopeful glimpse into a dark national history.

Harbers Studios turbocharges the efforts of charitable entrepreneurs by helping them tell their stories. Our goal is to help them articulate and share the value of the work they do so they can inspire others to help them do it. Working with some of the best filmmaking talent in the world, we create compelling visual narratives that enhance the endeavors of organizations working to make the world a better place.

The International Center of Photography (ICP) is the world’s leading institution dedicated to the practice and understanding of photography and the reproduced image in all its forms. Through our exhibitions, educational programs, and community outreach, we offer an open forum for dialogue about the role images play in our culture. Since our founding, we have presented more than 500 exhibitions and offered thousands of classes, providing instruction at every level. ICP is a center where photographers and artists, students and scholars can create and interpret the world of the image within our comprehensive educational facilities and archive.

As a privately funded nonprofit arts and education organization, ICP depends in large part on friends such as you for support. Your generosity is vital to ICP as it continues to grow and succeed in its mission: to present photography's extraordinary power to the public.

There are many ways to give to ICP: Donate to the Annual Fund, create a scholarship, sponsor exhibitions and education programs, contribute to the Collection, or make a planned gift.