Last Updated on 01/29/2025 by Nilofer Khan
The controversy surrounding the iconic Napalm Girl photograph continues to evolve. A documentary titled The Stringer—which has been in production for the past two years—finally premiered on January 25 at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. After much secrecy surrounding what it’s about, the documentary claims that the actual photographer of the historic image is not Nick Ut but another Vietnamese stringer. The film’s reviews have already been published in some of the biggest newspapers. Here’s what exactly the film claims happened.
The lead image is from a previous story published in 2017.
The Stringer claims that the photograph, which went on to win several accolades, including the Pulitzer, was actually captured by Nguyen Thanh Nghe. Before delving into the documentary’s content, it’s important to note that The Phoblographer has not yet viewed the film. However, like our previous article, this report aims to update our readers on the ongoing events.
According to The Guardian, the documentary reveals that Nguyen Thanh Nghe, who worked as a cameraman for NBC but was asked to drive that day to Trang Bang, sold his photos to the Associated Press (AP) as a freelancer or “stringer.” The Daily Beast adds that Gary Knight, co-founder of VII and photojournalist, learned about the “questionable” reality in 2010. As AP stated in their 23-page report, every attempt at “learning the truth” was stalled by those who knew Nick Ut. However, an email in 2022 by Carl Robinson, a former AP photo editor in Saigon, led to a long investigation, which resulted in this documentary, directed by Bao Nguyen, a Vietnamese American filmmaker.
In a quote, Knight told The LA Times during the premier night: “Bao is a very prominent Vietnamese American filmmaker who comes from the same community as the stringer and as Nick. So we were all heavily invested in making sure that we were diligent, thoughtful and treated everybody with respect and tried to get this right. So we’re all stakeholders in the story.”
The documentary sheds light on the reason behind it, stating Horst Faas, the then director of the AP’s photo bureau in Saigon, chose to credit Ut. The decision, per Robinson, was based on the fact that Ut was a staff member while Robinson was a stringer. The Stringer also adds that this was a common practice at the time, and another reason is that Faas felt loyalty to Nick Ut, as the latter’s brother died in service in 1965 while working for the agency. In addition, a memo written by Faas also claims an unofficial policy where one would not credit Vietnamese stringers because of their “weird” names. The film also adds that Faas paid Nghe $20 for the print, while the latter’s brother-in-law, who was also working with NBC at that time, alleged he brought the role to AP. Both Robinson and Nghe’s daughter added they had no choice but to go ahead with the narrative.
In addition to interviews, the film also investigated the matter with forensic experts with the French NGO Index. They examined the footage shot on the day near Trảng Bàng and concluded, based on Ut’s position, that the image could not have been captured by him but by Nghe alone.
As stated previously, AP has vehemently denied this with its own research. Furthermore, Ut’s lawyer, James Hornstein, told The LA Times that it’s “outrageous” how the “VII Foundation has provided a platform to a man who clearly has a vendetta that’s been simmering for more than 50 years.” Nick Ut has not issued a statement yet, and Kim Phuc, the girl in the photograph, “refused to participate” in the attack. However, Phuc also has no memory of the day.
In another report by Vanity Fair, despite the strong case, the documentary has several discrepancies. For instance, it was revealed that Robinson was let go of AP due to his issues with the workplace. At the same time, Nghe does not have the original print, as his wife tore it up one afternoon.
From the looks of it, the battle of credibility has just begun between AP and Knight. We do not know what the outcome could be. But if the claim is proven true, then Knight and his team will have rewritten history.