Arthur, Paul

Nonfiction Powwow in Poughkeepsie: The Flaherty Seminar at Fifty Bibliography

Report on the Robert Flaherty Film Seminar at Vassar College marking its 50th year; founded in 1955 by Frances Flaherty, the week-long program convened filmmakers, museum programmers, writers, students, and distributors for screenings, public and small-group discussions, and retrospectives. Programmer Susan Oxtoby (Cinematheque Ontario) juxtaposed documentary and experimental work and presented films including Brault and Perrault's Pour la Suite du Monde (1963), Ulrike Ottinger's Taiga (1992), Bruce Conner's Crossroads (1976), Marlon Riggs's Tongues Untied (1989), and Juan Manuel Echavarria's Bocas de Ceniza (2004). Panels debated media circulation strategies from a national Arte-style TV network to straight-to-DVD and internet distribution, and screenings provoked discussions of verite ethics, representation, and archival/experimental practice.