I am Martin Parr: A heartfelt portrait of a British icon

Martin Parr has always divided opinion. Like a true British icon, you either love him or hate him. The photographer is known as a lifelong documentarian of British kitsch and class – seaside holidays, garden parties and supermarket checkouts – exposing its quirks, contradictions, and quiet tragedies. Some see his work as exploitative and snobbish; a new documentary convincingly argues otherwise.

Created by Lee Shulman, I am Martin Parr traces the Epsom-born photographer’s life and career over 60 years, beginning with his first ever photograph in 1963, aged 11, and through to his early black-and-white images documenting the decline of the working class in Britain. Now, aged 72, Martin is best known for his colour photography, a controversial move of his at a time when “serious” photographers shot in black-and-white. Drenched in garish flash and saturated colour, these wry observations capture the absurdity of everyday life with an affectionate and unflinching gaze. They are now known as some of the most iconic photos of British life from the last century.

Premiering in the UK and Ireland on 21 February, the documentary follows Martin around New Brighton, Merseyside, where he produced his lauded 1986 series The Last Resort. The film revisits key moments in Parr’s career, with archival footage and slideshows of his work, alongside interviews with important figures like his wife Susan, artist Grayson Perry, photographer Bruce Gilden, and musician Mark Bedford.

The documentary captures the pace of Martin’s process, and for filmmaker Lee Shulman, filming Parr in action meant embracing this relentless speed. “It’s great to work with Martin, but you have to work fast because he doesn’t hang about,” he says. “Martin doesn’t do anything for the camera – you have to grab the moments when they happen. A little ice-cream blackmail was used to get some shots.”

Lee’s film challenges the perception that Parr’s work is detached or cynical. “He would hate me to say this but Martin cares a lot, not just about people but about the world we live in,” says Lee. “He is often misunderstood in that respect. He’s just showing life as it is… He finds beauty in the everyday, but he is more politically engaged than you might think – he sees the truth.”

Martin’s photos possess the rare ability to shape how we see the world around us. “He’s changed the way we look,” says artist Grayson Perry in the documentary. I Am Martin Parr is a chance to get to know the personality behind some of Britain’s most recognised images – his process, perspective, and humour. A man that is, as the film puts it, “unassuming and brilliantly ordinary, but one of the greatest photographers of all time”.