“As recently as December, we reiterated our request to see the filmmakers’ full materials, and they did not respond, nor did they include AP’s full response in the film,” said an AP spokesperson, Lauren Easton. “We were surprised and disappointed that the film portrayed AP as having reviewed the film’s materials and being dismissive of the allegations, which is completely false.”

The film’s investigation was led by the husband-and-wife team of Gary Knight, founder of the VII Foundation, and producer Fiona Turner. Bao Nguyen, a Vietnamese-American filmmaker, directed.

“I’m not a journalist by any stretch of the imagination,” Nguyen said. “I had a healthy skepticism, as I think anyone would, going against a 53-year-old truth … But as a storyteller and a filmmaker, I thought it was both my responsibility and my privilege to be able to uplift the story of individuals like Nghe.”

Before having seen the film, the AP conducted its own investigation over six months and concluded it had “no reason to believe anyone other than Ut took the photo”.

“AP stands ready to review any and all evidence and new information about this photo,” Easton said.

Knight and Turner met with AP in London last June about the allegations. According to AP, the filmmakers requested the news organisation sign a non-disclosure agreement before providing their evidence. AP would not. The film suggests that evidence was presented to the AP, which the AP says is not true.

A primary source in the film is Carl Robinson, an AP photo editor in Saigon in 1972 who declined to use the picture on the grounds that the nudity was a breach of the agency’s policy. He was overruled by Horst Faas, AP’s Saigon chief of photos.

Robinson says in the film that Faas instructed him to “make it staff” and credit Ut for the photo. Both Faas and Yuichi “Jackson” Ishizaki, who developed the film, are dead. Robinson, 81, was dismissed by AP in 1978.

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On Saturday, a Sundance Institute moderator asked Robinson why he had come forward with the allegations now. “I didn’t want to die before this story came out,” he said. “I wanted to find (Nghe) and say sorry.”

A variety of witnesses interviewed by AP, including renowned correspondents such as Fox Butterfield and Peter Arnett, and the photo’s subject herself, Phuc, say they are certain Ut took the photo.

The filmmakers claim their investigation took more than two years. They enlisted a French forensics team, INDEX, to help determine the likelihood of whether Ut had been in a position to take the photo. The forensics team concluded it was highly unlikely that Ut could have done it.

Ut’s lawyer, James Hornstein, said on Sunday: “In due course, we will proceed to right this wrong in a courtroom where Nick Ut’s reputation will be vindicated.”

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Knight referenced AP’s investigation on Saturday, telling the audience that the company’s statement was available online. “They said they’re open always to examining the truth. And I think it was a very reasonable thing to say,” he said. “Our story is here and it’s here for you all to see.”

He added: “Things happen in the field in the heat of the moment … We’re all stronger if we examine ourselves, ask tough questions, and we’re open and honest about what goes on in our profession. Now more than ever, I would argue.”

AP

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