When a beginner sports photographer is thrust into the middle of a Central American revolution, he is forced to reckon with his own accountability as an image maker.

SYNOPSIS:

SHOOTER is a feature-length drama set in the present day. DEREK JONES is a young photographer whose burgeoning talent earns him an assignment covering a January soccer championship in the small Central American country of Obero for an international press agency. Revolutionaries have planned to overthrow the government in the immediate wake of the game, when the country's attention is focused on the celebrations. Derek is thrust into the unfamiliar role of covering a breaking news story, and captures an iconic image of a revolutionary fighter leading a charge against a government building, waving the flag of the independence movement. The image lands on the front page of every major newspaper in the world, and propels both the photographer and the subject into the spotlight. JUAN LORENZO, the flag-waver in the photo, is seized upon by the organizers of the revolution to be their new leader. Juan is a simple man, caught up in the excitement of the night. The forces behind the new government see him as a puppet that they can control. Meanwhile, Derek returns to the United States and becomes a much sought-after photographer. He finds himself making portraits of politicians and movie stars and quickly becomes disenchanted with the publicity machine that tightly controls the images of the rich and famous. When he resists the control of the image-makers, he finds that his star falls quickly. Meanwhile, in Obero, Juan tries to use his new position to help the common people of his country. But he is thwarted at every turn by political operatives and is told to stick to the scripts he is given. The more he tries to resist this control, the more he is kept out of the public light. Late in the year, both Derek and Juan find themselves isolated. A New York magazine editor has the idea to have Derek return to Obero to photograph Juan for the year-end issue. During their portrait session, a coup is led by the real powers behind the revolution and Juan is killed in the Presidential palace. Once again, Derek is there to make an iconic image, the fallen folk hero. Derek returns to the US, and we leave him at a high school soccer game, happy to be doing the work he loves without the fame and complications of the big time.