Trisha Ziff
Trisha Ziff | |
|---|---|
Ziff in 2016 | |
| Born | 21 July 1956 Leeds, England |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupations |
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| Notable work |
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| Spouse | Pedro Meyer (div.) |
| Children | 1 |
| Mother | Ann Rachlin |
| Relatives | Jan Ziff (sister) |
| Awards | Guggenheim Fellowship (2000) |
Trisha Ziff (born 21 July 1956) is a British curator and documentary filmmaker. She is a 2000 Guggenheim Fellow and her work includes Chevolution (2008), The Mexican Suitcase (2012), and The Man Who Saw Too Much (2015).
Biography
Ziff was born on 21 July 1956 in Leeds, England,[1] daughter of Barratts Shoes director Neville Ziff and musician and author Ann Rachlin.[2] She obtained her pre-diploma in fine arts from Canterbury College of Art in 1974 and her BA with honours from Goldsmiths College, University of London in 1977.[3]
Ziff worked in Mexico City, working as a curator.[1] She edited and contributed to several books, including Still War: Photographs from the North of Ireland (1989), Between Worlds: Contemporary Mexican Photography (1990), Distant Relations: Chicano Irish and Mexican Art and Critical Writing (1995), and Hidden Truths: Bloody Sunday 1972 (1999).[1] In 2000,[4] she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for "a study of the historical narrative of the San Patricios in a contemporary context".[1] In 2006, she served as curator of the Victoria and Albert Museum's exhibition on the Che Guevara photograph Guerrillero Heroico, criticizing the V&A's decision to not honor her request to invite her long-time friend and president of Sinn Féin Gerry Adams.[5][6] Despite the success of the exhibit,[5] Richard Gott of The Guardian criticized its companion book, which she edited, as a "superficial and sloppy piece of historical reporting that relies considerably for its best sections on the expertise of David Kunzle".[7]
Ziff made her documentary debut co-directing with Luis Lopez the 2008 film Chevolution, centered on the aforementioned Guevara photograph.[8][5] She was director, writer, and producer for The Mexican Suitcase (2012), centered on thousands of film negatives created during the Spanish Civil War by David Seymour [Seymour], Robert Capa, and Gerda Taro.[9] Her next documentary The Man Who Saw Too Much (2015) was centered on Mexican photographer Enrique Metinides; Variety featured Ziff on their Mexico: Up Next! series, saying that "as a photographer's photographer, Ziff is intimate with the desire to risk all in taking a shot – or so she wishes".[10] She also won Best Documentary Feature at the 58th Ariel Awards for The Man Who Saw Too Much.[11] She later directed a feature documentary named Witkin and Witkin (2017),[12] as well as a Netflix short documentary named A Tale of Two Kitchens (2019).[13] She directed A Ballymurphy Man (2025), which is centered on Gerry Adams, with whom she became friends after they met in 1981.[5]
By the 1980s, Ziff founded the Camerawork collective in the Bogside in Derry.[5] She also co-founded the film company 212Berlin.[3]
Ziff was married to Spanish photographer Pedro Meyer until their divorce.[9] They have one child, a son.[9] Her sister Jan Ziff was a journalist and children's author.[2]
Filmography
- Chevolution (2008)[8]
- The Mexican Suitcase (2012)[9]
- The Man Who Saw Too Much (2015)[10]
- Witkin and Witkin (2017)[12]
- A Tale of Two Kitchens (2019)[13]
- A Ballymurphy Man (2025)[5]
References
- ^ a b c d Reports of the President and the Treasurer. John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. 1999. p. 44. Archived from the original on 5 October 2025. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
- ^ a b "Jan Ziff, World Service journalist and award-winning co-author of the Heckerty series of children's picture books – obituary". The Telegraph. 22 March 2022. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 19 February 2025. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
- ^ a b Santiago, Waleska (8 October 2025). "Trisha Ziff Uses Film and Photography to Call for Peace". Free Speech Film Festival. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
- ^ "Trisha Ziff-Meyer". Guggenheim Fellowships. Archived from the original on 19 December 2025. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f Manley, John (10 July 2025). "New Gerry Adams documentary reveals republican figurehead's 'humanity'". The Irish News. Archived from the original on 20 July 2025. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
- ^ Campbell, Duncan (2 June 2006). "Sorry Gerry. You're just not the right sort for Che's V&A party". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
- ^ Gott, Richard (2 June 2006). "Poster boy". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
- ^ a b Ehrenreich, Ben (1 June 2008). "Viva La... Logo?". The Los Angeles Times. p. P3. Archived from the original on 25 December 2025. Retrieved 14 December 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d "Meet the DocuWeeks Filmmakers: Trisha Ziff--'The Mexican Suitcase'". International Documentary Association. Archived from the original on 23 October 2025. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
- ^ a b Young, James (26 October 2015). "Mexico: Up Next – Trisha Ziff". Variety. Archived from the original on 29 December 2025. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
- ^ "Lista de ganadores de los Premios Ariel". El Universal. 28 May 2016. Archived from the original on 1 June 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
- ^ a b ""Witkin and Witkin" -The wit of it all [MOVIE REVIEW]". Easy Reader News. 29 September 2021. Archived from the original on 6 November 2025. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
- ^ a b "Stream It Or Skip It: 'A Tale Of Two Kitchens', A Netflix Documentary Short About Sister Restaurants in Mexico City And San Francisco". Decider. 9 July 2019. Archived from the original on 19 May 2025. Retrieved 16 December 2025.