First look at ‘The Way I See It’ doc about President Obama photographer Pete Souza

The film is an official selection of the 2020 Telluride Film Festival and produced by Oscar Winners Laura Dern and Free Solo’s Evan Hayes

Focus Features has revealed the first look and release date for Dawn Porter’s documentary and official 2020 selection of the Telluride Film Festival, The Way I See It, which follows former Chief White House Photographer Pete Souza’s time behind-the-scenes covering Presidents Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan.

This comes on the heels of Porter’s recent moving documentary, John Lewis: Good Trouble, chronicling the now-late Congressman and civil rights hero John Lewis. The Way I See It is produced by Porter alongside Academy Award, BAFTA and Emmy Award winning producer Evan Hayes (Free Solo), Academy Award and Emmy Award-winner Laura Dern and her Jaywalker Pictures partner Jayme Lemons, in association with Platform One Media. The documentary is a co-presentation from Focus Features and MSNBC Films, a division of NBC News Studios. The Way I See It will open in theaters this September.  

Pete Souza commented, “I hope this film serves as a reminder about importance of the Presidency, but also how the power of the still image in behind-the-scenes moments can reveal the true character of the person holding that office.” 

Based on the New York Times #1 bestseller comes The Way I See It, an unprecedented look behind the scenes of two of the most iconic Presidents in American History, Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan, as seen through the eyes of renowned photographer Pete Souza. As Official White House Photographer, Souza was an eyewitness to the unique and tremendous responsibilities of being the most powerful person on Earth. The movie reveals how Souza transforms from a respected photojournalist to a searing commentator on the issues we face as a country and a people.

The documentary is based on Souza’s New York Times #1 bestsellers, “Obama: An Intimate Portrait” and “Shade: A Tale of Two Presidents.”  He is a professor emeritus at Ohio University’s School of Visual Communication and was a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for explanatory journalism in 2001 as part of the Chicago Tribune staff. 

Souza, the filmmakers and Focus Features will also launch at the film’s release #VoteTheWayYouSeeIt, a social impact campaign aimed at engaging and encouraging all Americans to register to vote in the November elections. They will work together with HeadCount, a non-partisan organization that promotes participation in democracy through music, culture, and digital media. With HeadCount, they will provide resources to register all Americans to vote and understand their voting options — whether it is in-person at the polls, absentee or mail-in based on their state. 

Focus Features and MSNBC Films will release The Way I See It on Friday September 18, 2020 in theaters domestically and then premie on MSNBC on Friday October 9, 2020 at 10:00pm EDT.