# Trisha Ziff

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{{Short description|British filmmaker and curator (born 1956)}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| image = Trisha Ziff.jpg
| caption = Ziff in 2016
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1956|7|21|df=y}}
| birth_place = Leeds, England
| alma_mater = {{ublist|
* [Canterbury College of Art](/source/Canterbury_College_of_Art)
* [Goldsmiths College, University of London](/source/Goldsmiths_College%2C_University_of_London)
}}
| occupation = {{flatlist|
* Curator
* filmmaker
}}
| notable_works = {{ublist|
* ''[Chevolution](/source/Chevolution)'' (2008)
* ''[The Mexican Suitcase](/source/The_Mexican_Suitcase)'' (2012)
* ''[The Man Who Saw Too Much](/source/The_Man_Who_Saw_Too_Much)'' (2015)
}}
| spouse = [Pedro Meyer](/source/Pedro_Meyer) (div.)
| children = 1
| mother = [Ann Rachlin](/source/Ann_Rachlin)
| relatives = [Jan Ziff](/source/Jan_Ziff) (sister)
| awards = [Guggenheim Fellowship](/source/Guggenheim_Fellowship) (2000)
}}
'''Trisha Ziff''' (born 21 July 1956) is a British curator and documentary filmmaker. She is a 2000 [Guggenheim Fellow](/source/Guggenheim_Fellow) and her work includes ''[Chevolution](/source/Chevolution)'' (2008), ''[The Mexican Suitcase](/source/The_Mexican_Suitcase)'' (2012), and ''[The Man Who Saw Too Much](/source/The_Man_Who_Saw_Too_Much)'' (2015).

==Biography==
Ziff was born on 21 July 1956 in Leeds, England,<ref name="GF"/> daughter of [Barratts Shoes](/source/Barratts_Shoes) director Neville Ziff and musician and author [Ann Rachlin](/source/Ann_Rachlin).<ref name="Telegraph 2022"/> She obtained her pre-diploma in fine arts from [Canterbury College of Art](/source/Canterbury_College_of_Art) in 1974 and her BA with honours from [Goldsmiths College, University of London](/source/Goldsmiths_College%2C_University_of_London) in 1977.<ref name="fsff"/>

Ziff worked in Mexico City, working as a curator.<ref name="GF"/> She edited and contributed to several books, including ''Still War: Photographs from the North of Ireland'' (1989), ''Between Worlds: Contemporary Mexican Photography'' (1990), ''Distant Relations: Chicano Irish and Mexican Art and Critical Writing'' (1995), and ''Hidden Truths: Bloody Sunday 1972'' (1999).<ref name="GF"/> In 2000,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Trisha Ziff-Meyer |url=https://www.gf.org/fellows/trisha-ziff-meyer |access-date=2025-12-13 |website=[Guggenheim Fellowship](/source/Guggenheim_Fellowship)s |archive-date=19 December 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251219042737/https://www.gf.org/fellows/trisha-ziff-meyer |url-status=live }}</ref> she was awarded a [Guggenheim Fellowship](/source/Guggenheim_Fellowship) for "a study of the historical narrative of the [San Patricios](/source/Saint_Patrick's_Battalion) in a contemporary context".<ref name="GF">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CuMkAQAAIAAJ |title=Reports of the President and the Treasurer |date=1999 |publisher=[John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation](/source/John_Simon_Guggenheim_Memorial_Foundation) |page=44 |archive-date=5 October 2025 |access-date=14 December 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251005225513/https://books.google.com/books?id=CuMkAQAAIAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2006, she served as curator of the [Victoria and Albert Museum](/source/Victoria_and_Albert_Museum)'s exhibition on the [Che Guevara](/source/Che_Guevara) photograph ''[Guerrillero Heroico](/source/Guerrillero_Heroico)'', criticizing the V&A's decision to not honor her request to invite her long-time friend and [president of Sinn Féin](/source/president_of_Sinn_F%C3%A9in) [Gerry Adams](/source/Gerry_Adams).<ref name="Manley 2025"/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Campbell |first=Duncan |date=2006-06-02 |title=Sorry Gerry. You're just not the right sort for Che's V&A party |url=http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/jun/02/arts.northernireland |access-date=2025-12-13 |website=[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)}}</ref> Despite the success of the exhibit,<ref name="Manley 2025"/> [Richard Gott](/source/Richard_Gott) of ''[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)'' criticized its companion book, which she edited, as a "superficial and sloppy piece of historical reporting that relies considerably for its best sections on the expertise of [David Kunzle](/source/David_Kunzle)".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gott |first=Richard |date=2006-06-02 |title=Poster boy |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2006/jun/03/art.art |access-date=2025-12-13 |work=[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian) |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

Ziff made her documentary debut co-directing with Luis Lopez the 2008 film ''[Chevolution](/source/Chevolution)'', centered on the aforementioned Guevara photograph.<ref name="Ehrenreich 2008"/><ref name="Manley 2025"/> She was director, writer, and producer for ''[The Mexican Suitcase](/source/The_Mexican_Suitcase)'' (2012), centered on thousands of film negatives created during the [Spanish Civil War](/source/Spanish_Civil_War) by David Seymour [David Seymour](/source/David_Seymour_(photographer)), [Robert Capa](/source/Robert_Capa) and [Gerda Taro](/source/Gerda_Taro).<ref name="doc"/> Her next documentary ''[The Man Who Saw Too Much](/source/The_Man_Who_Saw_Too_Much)'' (2015) was centered on Mexican photographer [Enrique Metinides](/source/Enrique_Metinides); ''[Variety](/source/Variety_(magazine))'' featured Ziff on their ''Mexico: Up Next!'' series, saying that "as a photographer's photographer, Ziff is intimate with the desire to risk all in taking a shot – or so she wishes".<ref name="Young 2015"/> She also won Best Documentary Feature at the [58th Ariel Awards](/source/58th_Ariel_Awards) for ''[The Man Who Saw Too Much](/source/The_Man_Who_Saw_Too_Much)''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Lista de ganadores de los Premios Ariel|url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/articulo/espectaculos/cine/2016/05/28/lista-de-ganadores-de-los-premios-ariel-2016|access-date=October 31, 2016|work=[El Universal](/source/El_Universal_(Mexico_City))|date=May 28, 2016|archive-date=1 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160601074931/http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/articulo/espectaculos/cine/2016/05/28/lista-de-ganadores-de-los-premios-ariel-2016|url-status=live}}</ref> She later directed a feature documentary named ''Witkin and Witkin'' (2017),<ref name="Witkin 2021"/> as well as a Netflix short documentary named ''[A Tale of Two Kitchens](/source/A_Tale_of_Two_Kitchens)'' (2019).<ref name="Decider 2019"/> She directed ''A Ballymurphy Man'' (2025), which is centered on [Gerry Adams](/source/Gerry_Adams), with whom she became friends after they met in 1981.<ref name="Manley 2025"/>

By the 1980s, Ziff founded the Camerawork collective in the [Bogside](/source/Bogside) in Derry.<ref name="Manley 2025"/> She also co-founded the film company 212Berlin.<ref name="fsff">{{Cite web |last=Santiago |first=Waleska |date=2025-10-08 |title=Trisha Ziff Uses Film and Photography to Call for Peace |url=https://freespeechfilmfestival.org/trisha-ziff-uses-film-and-photography-to-call-for-peace/ |access-date=2025-12-13 |website=Free Speech Film Festival}}</ref>

Ziff was married to Spanish photographer [Pedro Meyer](/source/Pedro_Meyer) until their divorce.<ref name="doc"/> They have one child, a son.<ref name="doc"/> Her sister [Jan Ziff](/source/Jan_Ziff) was a journalist and children's author.<ref name="Telegraph 2022">{{Cite news |date=2022-03-22 |title=Jan Ziff, World Service journalist and award-winning co-author of the Heckerty series of children's picture books – obituary |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2022/03/22/jan-ziff-world-service-journalist-award-winning-co-author-heckerty/ |access-date=2025-12-13 |work=[The Telegraph](/source/The_Daily_Telegraph) |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235 |archive-date=19 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250219161626/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2022/03/22/jan-ziff-world-service-journalist-award-winning-co-author-heckerty/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Filmography==
*''[Chevolution](/source/Chevolution)'' (2008)<ref name="Ehrenreich 2008">{{cite news |last=Ehrenreich |first=Ben |date=2008-06-01 |title=Viva La... Logo? |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/193472868/ |work=[The Los Angeles Times](/source/The_Los_Angeles_Times) |page=P3 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=25 December 2025 |access-date=14 December 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251225182017/https://www.newspapers.com/image/193472868/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
*''[The Mexican Suitcase](/source/The_Mexican_Suitcase)'' (2012)<ref name="doc">{{Cite web |title=Meet the DocuWeeks Filmmakers: Trisha Ziff--'The Mexican Suitcase' |url=https://www.documentary.org/online-feature/meet-docuweeks-filmmakers-trisha-ziff-mexican-suitcase |access-date=2025-12-13 |website=[International Documentary Association](/source/International_Documentary_Association) |archive-date=23 October 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251023051550/https://www.documentary.org/online-feature/meet-docuweeks-filmmakers-trisha-ziff-mexican-suitcase |url-status=live }}</ref>
*''[The Man Who Saw Too Much](/source/The_Man_Who_Saw_Too_Much)'' (2015)<ref name="Young 2015">{{Cite news |last=Young |first=James |date=2015-10-26 |title=Mexico: Up Next – Trisha Ziff |url=https://variety.com/2015/film/festivals/mexico-up-next-trisha-ziff-1201626438/ |access-date=2025-12-14 |work=[Variety](/source/Variety_(magazine)) |archive-date=29 December 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251229192538/https://variety.com/2015/film/festivals/mexico-up-next-trisha-ziff-1201626438/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
*''Witkin and Witkin'' (2017)<ref name="Witkin 2021">{{cite web|access-date=2023-03-28|title="Witkin and Witkin" -The wit of it all [MOVIE REVIEW]|url=https://easyreadernews.com/witkin-and-witkin-the-wit-of-it-all-movie/|date=29 September 2021|website=[Easy Reader News](/source/Easy_Reader)|archive-date=6 November 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251106213243/https://easyreadernews.com/witkin-and-witkin-the-wit-of-it-all-movie/|url-status=live}}</ref>
*''[A Tale of Two Kitchens](/source/A_Tale_of_Two_Kitchens)'' (2019)<ref name="Decider 2019">{{cite web|url=https://decider.com/2019/05/22/a-tale-of-two-kitchens-stream-it-or-skip-it/|title=Stream It Or Skip It: 'A Tale Of Two Kitchens', A Netflix Documentary Short About Sister Restaurants in Mexico City And San Francisco|date=July 9, 2019|website=Decider|access-date=16 December 2025|archive-date=19 May 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250519020909/https://decider.com/2019/05/22/a-tale-of-two-kitchens-stream-it-or-skip-it/|url-status=live}}</ref>
*''A Ballymurphy Man'' (2025)<ref name="Manley 2025">{{Cite web |last=Manley |first=John |date=2025-07-10 |title=New Gerry Adams documentary reveals republican figurehead's 'humanity' |url=https://www.irishnews.com/news/northern-ireland/new-gerry-adams-documentary-reveals-republican-figureheads-humanity-KFYRONVAH5AABKQVDPAI26TU4I/ |access-date=2025-12-13 |website=[The Irish News](/source/The_Irish_News) |archive-date=20 July 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250720002653/https://www.irishnews.com/news/northern-ireland/new-gerry-adams-documentary-reveals-republican-figureheads-humanity-KFYRONVAH5AABKQVDPAI26TU4I/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ziff, Trisha}}
Category:1956 births
Category:Living people
Category:English documentary filmmakers
Category:British women documentary filmmakers
Category:British documentary film directors
Category:English women film directors
Category:English film producers
Category:British women film producers
Category:English women curators
Category:British art curators
Category:Artists from Leeds
Category:Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London
Category:English expatriates in Mexico
Category:Film directors from Mexico City
Category:British film production company founders

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Trisha Ziff](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trisha_Ziff) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trisha_Ziff?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.