When Martin Schoeller puts up his mobile photo set-up, he creates an intimate space in which people tell him about themselves – about life on the street, in prison or on the big stage. And he, the photographer, becomes an unprejudiced listener, a confidant for a short time. The German, who has been living in the USA for thirty years, knows the extremes of a society that is increasingly at risk of being torn apart. As a renowned celebrity photographer, Martin Schoeller has the US presidents and major Hollywood icons as well as music and sports legends in front of his camera. But in his private photo series, he focuses on those parts of society that are too little in the public eye, such as the homeless and members of the LGBTQI+ community in Hollywood, Death Row Exonerees, Drag Queens or Native Americans.
Josephine Links accompanies Martin Schoeller on his personal photo projects and thus provides insights into diverse lives that tell of the breaking points, but also the possibilities of American society. And last but not least, with the words of a Native American, the film conveys what Martin Schoeller has been trying to tell with his work for decades: “We all bleed red“.