Jerome Liebling was a teacher of photography when there were few. He founded the photography program at the University of Minnesota in 1949 and the film and photography department at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1969. A member of the Photo League in New York, Jerry's photographs and films, whether he's shooting stockyards in Minnesota or eighty year-old handball players in Miami Beach, always affirm life. They are direct, powerful, incisive and revealing. While his work is seemingly uncomplicated, students somehow could never imitate him. When I entered Hampshire in 1973, I
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THE NAZIS: A WARNING FROM HISTORY A BBC/A&E—The History Channel Co-production Historical and Script Consultant: Professor Ian Kershaw Narrated by Samuel West Photographed by Martin Patmore Produced and Written by Laurence Rees 6 episodes; 50 min. ea. How was it possible that a cultured nation at the heart of Europe ever allowed Hitler to come to power? With the help of new film archive discoveries from Russia and interviews with eye witnesses, many of whom are former members of the Nazi party and have never appeared on television before, this series reveals how the Nazi Party was born, grew
FADING REINDEER BELL from China Central Television Produced by Zhao Yukui and Wang Jing Photography by Xia Zhifang Directed by Sun Zengtian 60 min. Fading Reindeer Bell is about a woman artist and her all-female household. They are from the small ethnic minority known as the Ewenkis, one of 50 ethnic groups in China today. The Ewenkis are scattered across the northern part of the country, near the Sino-Russian border. The film invites us to consider the survival of an indigenous people, striving to maintain cultural identity amidst issues of gender and the environment. NACH SAISON (OFF SEASON)
REGRET TO INFORM A Sun Fountain Production Produced by Janet Cole and Barbara Sonneborn Principal Photography by Emiko Omori Directed by Barbara Sonneborn 70 min. Twenty years after losing her husband Jeff in the Vietnam War, director Barbara Sonneborn realized that she had never gotten over it. Happily remarried for many years and with a very rich life, she decided to seek out other widows, to learn how they had come to terms with losing love ones to the Vietnam War. Scores of American and Vietnamese women are interviewed. With Vietnam widow Xaun Nguyen Evans, Sonneborn takes us on a journey
LADY WITH THE WHITE HAT (Dame met bet Witte Hoedje) A film by Aliona van der Horst The Netherlands Film and Television Academy 47 min. The Lady with the White Hat is a portrait of a Ukranian woman, in Odessa, whose political convictions confined her to a psychiatric ward for seven years under Brezhnev and Andropov. Physically damaged but mentally unscathed, her resolve remains intact. She is a symbol for the many victims of Soviet psychiatry for whom years of medication and psychic humiliation make re-entry to society exceedingly difficult. Psychiatrist Semyon Gluzman understands the abuse of
Feature Documentaries 4 LITTLE GIRLSSpike Lee and Sam Pollard 42 UPMichaelA pted AND JUSTICE FOR ALLMichael Moore THE BLACK PRESS : SOLDIERS WITHOUT SWORDSStanley Nelson DANCEMAKERJerry Kupfer, Walter Scheuer & Matthew Diamond DIRTDavid Evans & Maria Holter ETERNAL MEMORY: VOICES FROM THE GREAT TERRORGeorge Yemec & David Pultz JULIETTE OF THE HERBSTish Streeten KELLY LOVES TONYSpencer Nakasako & Debbie Lum LITTLE DIETER NEEDS TO FLYAndre Singer, Lucki Stipetic & Werner Herzog NACH SAISON (OFF SEASON)Mirjam Quinte & Pepe Danquart Short Documentaries DEAR DR. SPENCER: ABORTION IN A SMALL
The growing popularity of the personal documentary has created some unusual interest in the person(s) behind the camera. The traditional alliance of documentary with journalism meant little concern for the filmmaker's biography, values or opinions on issues. But the personal— or, self-reflexive—documentary has brought with it a kind of "auteur theory" to nonfiction film and video. Whether the imagemaker is male or female, married or single, liberal or conservative, heterosexual or homosexual—such matters gain consequence in a documentary whose approach is personal. In the consideration of
One of the missions of the Film Archive at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is to acquire, preserve and provide research access to documentary films. The Archive collects documentaries of all kinds, now having more than 2,000 titles. As documentary archivist, I am responsible for the development and care of the IDA/Academy Documentary Collection. These films come from a variety of sources. Each year since 1994, we have received copies of all the films nominated for Academy Awards, and we've acquired copies of nominees and winners in the annual IDA Distinguished Documentary
There was a time when I'd cringe at the question , "So, David, what do you do for a living?" Because once I replied "I'm a documentary filmmaker," the response would be, "That's nice, David. Now, what do you do for a living?" But, times have changed. As this century draws to a close, nonfiction film and video has reached dramatic new heights—in awareness by the general public, in interest from theatregoers and television viewers, and just plain acceptance and credibility with other media artists. I, for one, am grateful—now when respond to that hitherto anxious question, people smile, look
The Annual Meeting of the Public Broadcasting Service, held in Miami this past June, was a celebration of recent prosperity and future promise. As pointed out by Chairman of the Board Colin Campbell, PBS had gone from the near loss of federal funding in 1995 to generating millions of dollars from non-federal sources last year for additional programming. At last, PBS seems to be fulfilling its mission of "doing well while doing good." There was, however, an undercurrent of urgency. Public broadcasting is competing with the commercial networks and cable broadcasters in a race into the digital