Robert Richardson: The White Devil

This film came about in the most unlikely of ways. Jana Hojdová, a former cinematography student at FAMU in Prague, decided to approach Robert Richardson for her Master’s graduation project. His body of work, spanning decades of film history, inspired her like nothing else in the world. She wrote him an email – and, to her surprise, he replied.

What began as a student exercise soon turned into an extraordinary creative partnership and a deep personal friendship. Richardson opened up to Jana in a way he had never opened up to anyone else before. He gave her access to hundreds of hours of his private video archives and let her into his personal and professional life. Jana began to create a documentary portrait from the inside. She travelled the world with Richardson, attended the Oscars and witnessed major film productions alongside directors such as Quentin Tarantino, Oliver Stone and Martin Scorsese.

The result is not just a film about one of the most significant cinematographers of our time, but above all a powerful and inspiring story of courage, passion and faith. A reminder that where you come from matters less than your determination to pursue your vision, and that even the highest peaks are within reach.