All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is a 2022 American biographical documentary film about photographer, artist, and activist Nan Goldin. The film is produced, co-edited and directed by Laura Poitras, and tackles Goldin's life through her advocacy during the HIV/AIDS crisis in the ‘80s, and her fight against the Sackler family for their role in the current opioid epidemic in the United States. Poitras, a long-time friend and fan, stated that "Nan's art and vision has inspired my work for years, and has influenced generations of filmmakers."
The film premiered on September 3, 2022, at the 79th Venice International Film Festival, where it was awarded the Golden Lion, making it the second documentary (following Sacro GRA in 2013) to win the top prize at Venice. It also screened at the 2022 New York Film Festival, where it was the festival's centerpiece film and for which Goldin designed two official posters.
The film was received with critical acclaim, and was released in cinemas by Neon on November 23, 2022. At the 95th Academy Awards, the film was nominated for Best Documentary Feature.2023|Oscars.org'Navalny' Wins Best Documentary Feature Film | 95th Oscars (2023) The film then went on to win a Peabody Award at the 84th ceremony for "capturing the zeal of an artist eager to use her work to create a new vision for and of the world."
Synopsis The film examines the life and career of photographer and activist Nan Goldin and her efforts to hold Purdue Pharma, owned by the Sackler family, accountable for the opioid epidemic. Goldin, a well known photographer whose work often documented the LGBT subcultures and the HIV/AIDS crisis, founded the advocacy group P.A.I.N. (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now) in 2017 after her addiction to Oxycontin, and near fatal overdose of fentanyl. P.A.I.N. specifically targets museums and other arts institutions to hold the art community accountable for its collaboration with the Sackler family and its well publicized financial support of the arts. Since P.A.I.N.'s activities most of the targeted museums have severed all ties with the Sackler family and in 2021 Purdue Pharma filed for bankruptcy.
The film is structured in seven chapters, each of which begins with a photographic sequence or archival footage of a period of Goldin's life and then transitions to footage of her recent protests with P.A.I.N. The slideshow of archival photographs is reminiscent of Goldin's work creating slideshows or series of photographs, such as The Ballad of Sexual Dependency. Footage of P.A.I.N. demonstrations include its first 2018 protest at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Temple of Dendur as well as similar demonstrations at the Louvre and the Guggenheim Museum. Goldin is the primary narrator of the film, with additional interviews from associates such as journalist Patrick Radden Keefe and P.A.I.N. member Megan Kapler.
Cast Nan Goldin Patrick Radden Keefe Megan Kapler David Velasco John Waters (archive footage) Cookie Mueller (archive footage) David Wojnarowicz (archive footage)
Production Goldin and two other activists had been filming their activities with P.A.I.N. for two years, intending to make a documentary about the activist group. Goldin then approached the film's production company about turning the footage into a film, and Laura Poitras was suggested to Goldin to direct the film, based on Poitras's work on Astro Noise for the Whitney Museum. Goldin was initially skeptical because of Poitras' previous political films, saying "I thought I was not going to be interesting to her because I don't have any state secrets."
Goldin has stated that most of the film's footage and photographs come directly from her. Poitras expanded on Goldin's vision for the project, and chose to make a more well-rounded film about Goldin's life and career. These biographical elements include the suicide of Goldin's sister, Goldin's drug use and her sex work activities, which she had never previously publicized, as well as her art career and achievements. Goldin initially felt uncomfortable with allowing Poitras to control the film and the depiction of her life, but was happy with the finished film. Goldin said that Poitras was "telling my story in my voice, but it's not exactly my version as I would tell it. But she's been amazing into letting me have a lot of input into what's used and not used."
Music
Release The film premiered on September 3, 2022, at the 79th Venice International Film Festival, where it was awarded the Golden Lion. It screened at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9. Shortly afterwards Poitras criticized both the Venice and Toronto festivals for screening a film produced by Hillary Clinton, In Her Hands. Poitras stated that she was "alarmed" by Clinton's presence at the festivals, adding "Hillary Clinton was actively involved in the wars and occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan. She supported the escalation of troops." It also screened at the 2022 New York Film Festival, where it was the festival's centerpiece film.
In August 2022, before its Venice premiere, Neon acquired the US distribution rights for the movie while the UK and Ireland rights were taken by Altitude Film Distribution. In September 2022, HBO Documentary Films acquired television and streaming rights to the film. The film was released in theaters by Neon on November 23, 2022. The film coincides with This Will Not End Well, a retrospective of Goldin's work at Stockholm's Moderna Museet which opened October 29, 2022.
Reception Critical response On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 95% based on 145 reviews, with an average rating of 8.7/10. The website's consensus reads, "All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is a bone-deep look at a photographer's fight against addiction and the institution responsible for her pain through her gritty lens." According to Metacritic, which assigned a weighted average score of 91 out of 100 based on 34 critics, the film received "universal acclaim".
Godfrey Cheshire praised the film for being equally Poitras' and Goldin's work, stating that "there's effectively no conceptual distance between the auteur documentarian and her artist subject...the result of their sympathetic engagement is a collaboration of rare beauty and power."
On December 21, 2022, the film was shortlisted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Best Documentary Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards. It was ultimately nominated in the category. The film won a Peabody Award for "capturing the zeal of an artist eager to use her work to create a new vision for and of the world" at the 84th ceremony on June 9, 2024.
In June 2025, IndieWire ranked the film at number 37 on its list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 2020s (So Far)."
Accolades Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Venice Film Festival September 10, 2022 Golden LionLaura Poitras Queer Lion Smithers Foundation Award "Ambassador of Hope" Athens International Film Festival October 8, 2022 Golden Athena Best Documentary Award All the Beauty and the Bloodshed London Film Festival October 16, 2022 Grierson Award Montclair Film Festival October 30, 2022 Bruce Sinosky Award for Documentary Feature Critics' Choice Documentary Awards November 13, 2022 Best Political Documentary Best Director Laura Poitras Gotham Independent Film Awards November 28, 2022 Best DocumentaryAll the Beauty and the Bloodshed New York Film Critics Circle Awards December 2, 2022 Best Non-Fiction Film British Independent Film Awards December 4, 2022 Best International Independent Film Laura Poitras, Howard Gertler, John Lyons, Nan Goldin, Yoni Golijov National Board of ReviewDecember 8, 2022 Top Five DocumentariesAll the Beauty and the Bloodshed Freedom of Expression Award New York Film Critics Online December 11, 2022 Best Documentary Feature Los Angeles Film Critics Association December 11, 2022 Best Documentary/Non-Fiction Film Boston Society of Film Critics December 11, 2022 Best Documentary Film Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association December 12, 2022 Best Documentary Chicago Film Critics Association December 14, 2022 Best Documentary Film St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association December 18, 2022 Best Documentary Film Florida Film Critics Circle December 22, 2022 Best Documentary Film Alliance of Women Film Journalists January 5, 2023 Best Documentary San Diego Film Critics Society January 6, 2023 Best Documentary National Society of Film Critics January 7, 2023 Best Non-Fiction Film Toronto Film Critics Association January 8, 2023 Best Documentary Film San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle January 9, 2023 Best Documentary Feature Austin Film Critics Association January 10, 2023 Best Documentary Cinema Eye HonorsJanuary 12, 2023 Outstanding Non-Fiction Feature Laura Poitras, Howard Gertler, John Lyons, Nan Goldin, Yoni Golijov Outstanding Direction Laura Poitras Outstanding Editing Amy Foote, Joe Bini and Brian A. Kates Outstanding Original Score Soundwalk Collective The Unforgettables Nan Goldin Georgia Film Critics Association January 13, 2023 Best Documentary Film All the Beauty and the Bloodshed Seattle Film Critics Society January 17, 2023 Best Documentary Feature Online Film Critics Society January 23, 2023 Best Documentary Houston Film Critics Society February 18, 2023 Best Documentary Feature London Film Critics' Circle February 5, 2023 Film of the Year Documentary of the Year Satellite Awards February 11, 2023 Best Motion Picture – Documentary Vancouver Film Critics Circle February 13, 2023 Best Documentary Directors Guild of America Awards February 18, 2023 Outstanding Directing – Documentaries Laura Poitras British Academy Film Awards February 19, 2023 Best Documentary Laura Poitras, Howard Gertler, Nan Goldin, Yoni Golijov, John Lyons Dorian Awards February 23, 2023 Documentary of the YearAll the Beauty and the Bloodshed LGBTQ Documentary of the Year Hollywood Critics Association Awards February 24, 2023 Best Documentary Film All the Beauty and the Bloodshed Independent Spirit Awards March 4, 2023 Best Documentary FeatureLaura Poitras, Howard Gertler, Nan Goldin, Yoni Golijov, John Lyons Academy Awards March 12, 2023 Best Documentary Feature GLAAD Media Awards March 30, 2023 Outstanding Documentary All the Beauty and the Bloodshed Golden Trailer Awards June 29, 2023 Best Documentary – Bio Pic of an Individual All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (Intermission Film) Peabody Awards June 9, 2024 Capturing the Zeal of an Artist Eager to Use Her Work to Create a New Vision For and Of the World All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (Intermission Film)
References
External links All the Beauty and the Bloodshed at Praxis Films