Even though he’s been photographing celebrities for years, Misan Harriman still can’t believe he’s entered Hollywood’s new inner circle: he’s been nominated for an Oscar for his debut film as a writer-director.
“I can’t process any of this,” Harriman, 46, admits in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE. “This part of the journey is difficult for me to articulate.”
He pauses, recalling the news that he will forever be known as an Oscar contender. “I watched [the announcement] with my wife. I struggle with self-doubt and impostor syndrome. And every part of my being was saying, ‘We’re not going to make it. Why are you even here?’”
Netflix’s 18-minute movie Afterstarring David Oyelowo and written by Harriman and John Julius Schwabach with Harriman behind the camera, appeared first in the alphabetically announced nominees for Best Live Action Short on Jan. 23. “I was speechless — I couldn’t speak,” she recalls, crying.
Nigerian-born Harriman has worked as a portrait photographer for some of the world’s biggest stars, including Rihanna, Cate Blanchett, Tom Cruise and — his close friends — Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex. (He’s the artist behind the photos of their two children, 4-year-old son Prince Archie and 2-year-old daughter Princess Lilibet.)
Meghan Markle chats with David Oyelowo and Misan Harriman in new photos from a surprise Netflix event
He also has the distinction of being the first black man to shoot the cover British Vogue in the magazine’s 104-year history when in 2020 it captured images of people participating in the Black Lives Matter movement. As Harriman tells PEOPLE, his values and beliefs are never far from his mind when he creates art.
“Portrait for me, whether it’s the royal family or being at the spearhead of any of the civil rights movements that I care deeply about, is about seeking the truth,” he explains. “That’s the fundamental reason my lens is there, to capture the human condition in full fidelity.”
Amelie Dokubo and David Oyelowo in “The After”.
Netflix
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The same mission applied to his first work with moving images, says Harriman. Seeds of After they were planted after the resurgence of Black Lives Matter in 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But during its development, Harriman and Schwabach began to focus specifically on grief. “Yes, it was 2020,” he admits of the origin of the film. “But I think there are other parts of it, which must be people I’ve lost, parts of me that I’m still afraid to look at.”
Noting that depression and suicide rates are now at an all-time high, Harriman says the film became a response to the fact that collectively “we’re not doing well.” “We’re going to use art to try to help people recognize that it’s okay to not be well or to start a journey of healing.”
Oyelowo is acting After as Dayo, an ordinary man whose life is suddenly turned upside down by a random act of sadistic violence. Later, an equally random gesture of kindness helps the taxi driver open up about his immense grief.
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(L-R:) David Oyelowo, Misan Harriman and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, at a screening of “The After” in 2023.
Emma McIntyre/Getty
As a father of two young daughters, Harriman tells PEOPLE, “I’m just aware that we have to start wearing our vulnerability with pride. That’s what makes us human… If you look at the world now, we have to find a way to build bridges.”
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As with his photography, Harriman believes in the power of cinematic storytelling to connect audiences with that essential humanity. He is helped, he adds, by the collaboration with Oyelowo, “one of the great actors of our time” – whom he hired via Instagram.
“I personally don’t call it acting,” Harriman says of the British star’s performance. “I think what he did is something more sacred, more precious than all that. We were looking at unfiltered humanity.”
Extremely positive response to After — not to mention his praise — confirms for Harriman that audiences need such storytelling. “For many of us, when something really gets to us, when a piece of music or a movie gets to you, it can do more than years of therapy.”
After currently streaming on Netflix.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education