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Matinee: 'Platon's Dialogies: Obaid-Chinoy'
2 August 2025
Saturday matinees long ago let us escape from the ordinary world to the island of the Swiss Family Robinson or the mutinous decks of the Bounty. Why not, we thought, escape the usual fare here with Saturday matinees of our favorite photography films?
So we're pleased to present the 615th in our series of Saturday matinees today: Platon's Dialogies: Obaid-Chinoy.
This 4:19 segment from the PBS News Hour observes British portrait photographer Platon at work as he interviews Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, a Pakistani filmmaker and political activist who highlights gender inequality.
Shot in black-and-white, the clip shows Platon shooting with his Hasselblad between questions he directs to his subject on the set.
But he begins by explaining to her, "You're helping me understand that I'm very lucky to have you here because of what you know and what you have been through." He underlines that, "And I need to know what you know."
And she tells him what she knows.
If you didn't see Platon and his Hasseblad at work, you'd think this was a clip of two intellectuals having a discussion at some cafe.
But this is the way Platon captures a portrait.
"I love my job on days like this," he says at the end.