The Man I Left Behind | Masterclass by Hubert Hayaud

Bucharest Photofest

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What happens when a celebrated photographer who has never directed a film, a Sundance-selected producer and director, and an editor with a taste for the unconventional decide to collaborate?

The result is The Man I Left Behind — a ten-year journey of images, sounds, and ideas that resisted conventional form.

In this Masterclass, Hubert Hayaud will present the creative and technical process behind the making of this feature documentary, co-directed with Magnum photographer Larry Towell (World Press Photo laureate) and produced by Matthieu Rytz (Anote’s Ark, Deep Rising, both premiered at Sundance).

Topics will include:

Editorial approach — from initial “jam sessions” with Larry to the final cut.
Collaboration and trust — navigating differing visions and aesthetics.
Transforming challenging material — shaping handheld, often blurred footage into a coherent visual language.
Technical workflow — the importance of choosing the right editing software and organizing footage for efficiency.
Narrative structure — rejecting chronological and geographical order, avoiding “talking heads,” and instead creating a conversational flow.
Context and evolution — how major world events (Afghanistan, Ukraine) reshaped the project over a decade.
Distribution reality — festival submissions, rejections, and lessons learned.

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For the presentation, Hubert will open his Avid sessions showing earlier edits, unseen Larry Towell’s photography and footage and some behind-the-scenes editing.

How visual transitions became the backbone of the film’s structure will be examined, highlighting their role in enabling shifts in time and place that mirror an intimate conversation.

This Masterclass is intended for filmmakers, photographers, editors, and anyone interested in understanding how form and content can merge into a single vision.