From political iconography to capitalist brand name: the story of the world’s most reproduced photography is a fascinating one. Chevolution explores the role of fashion photographer Alberto Korda’s snapshot in the mythmaking of Che Guevara and illustrates how it has helped elevate him from man to symbol, from human to saint. But the film also shows how the photography has broken free of its origin, how it is recontextualised and eventually commercialised, when Che’s face is used to sell everything from thongs to Madonna albums. Pop artist Jim Fitzpatrick, Korda’s daughter, Sinn Fein’s Gerry Adams, old friends, masked Zapatistas, Obey designer Frank Shepard Fairey, and actors Antonio Banderas and Gael Garcia Bernal try to answer why the photography has such an appeal. But has the constant reuse emptied it of meaning? tsr

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