Robert Flaherty Film Seminar Archive
Call Number
Dates
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
The Flaherty Seminar, named in honor of filmmaker Robert Flaherty (1884-1951), is an annual film event for filmmakers, critics, curators, musicians, and film enthusiasts founded by his widow and filmmaking partner Frances in 1955. The Robert Flaherty Film Seminar Archives contains over 1,200 video and audio recordings of activities and discussions that occurred at the various Seminars in their over fifty-year history.
Historical Note
The Robert Flaherty Film Seminar is the longest continuously running film event in North America. Named after director Robert Flaherty, The Seminar began in 1955 when Flaherty's widow, Frances, convened a group of filmmakers, critics, curators, musicians, and other film enthusiasts at the Flaherty farm in Vermont. For more than fifty years the Flaherty Seminar has been firmly established as a one-of-a-kind institution that seeks to encourage filmmakers and other artists to explore the potential of the moving image. The films of such directors as Robert Drew, Louis Malle, the Maysles brothers, Mira Nair, Satyajit Ray, John Cassavetes, Yasujiro Ozu, Pedro Costa and Robert M. Young were shown at the Seminar before they were known generally in the American film community.
The weeklong Seminar brings together over 160 filmmakers, artists, curators, scholars, students, and film enthusiasts to celebrate the power of the moving image. Registration is open to the public and participants gather for a communal living experience that includes meals, social hours, special events, and at least three screening sessions daily followed by discussion. A different programmer is selected each year to shape the Seminar's theme and objective, which relates to a regional or national cinema, examines a stylistic feature, or responds to current world events. The Seminar is an intimate and intense experience where the traditional barriers between maker and audience are gradually obliterated. The structure of the event ensures that participants have greater access to the featured artists than would be found at festivals or conferences.
Source:
Biographical Note
Robert Flaherty (1884-1951) was an American filmmaker who created the documentary films Nanook of the North (1922), Moana (1926), Man of Aran (1934), and Louisiana Story (1948). He is credited with originating the docufiction and ethnofiction film genres. The Flaherty Seminar, named in his honor, is an annual film event established by his widow and filmmaking partner Frances at the Flaherty farm in Vermont in 1955. Each weeklong Seminar held since then brings together filmmakers, artists, curators, scholars, students, and film enthusiasts for special events, social hours, and daily film screenings followed by discussions. A different programmer is selected each year to shape the Seminar's theme and objective. In its over fifty-year history the Flaherty Seminar, which now meets in upstate New York, has encouraged filmmakers to celebrate the legacy of Robert Flaherty's filmmaking and to explore the potential of the moving image. Sources: About the Flaherty Seminar The Flaherty Donates the Robert Flaherty Film Seminar Audio Collection to NYU Fales Library and Special Collections
Arrangement
The archivist rearranged the order of the video and audio recordings as donated by The Flaherty into five thematically-organized series.
The paper materials are organized into two series and are arranged chronologically by year, and alphabetically within the years. This material is described at the box level.
Scope and Content
The Robert Flaherty Film Seminar Archive includes over 1,200 recordings dating back to the 1958 Flaherty Seminar. The recordings, of film screenings and discussions at the yearly Seminars, feature insight from Charles Burnett, Shirley Clarke, Bruce Connor, Frances Flaherty, Hollis Frampton, William Greaves, Ken Jacobs, Pauline Kael, Barbara Kopple, Richard Leacock, David Maysles, and Agnes Varda.
In addition to the Flaherty Seminar video and audio recordings, the collection also contains all paper records and photographs from The Flaherty organization.
The collection comprises seven series:
Series I: Flaherty Film Seminars.
This series contains audio and video recordings of the Flaherty Film Seminars ranging from 1958 to 2011.
Series II: Public TV.
This series contains audio recordings from annual meetings held at Arden House NY, during which independent producers met with public TV program managers and executives to screen and discuss controversial material.
Series III: Flaherty Israel.
This series contains audio recordings from the 1998 Flaherty Film Seminar in Israel, organized in collaboration with the New Foundation for Cinema and Television, Tel Aviv.
Series IV: Film Council.
This series contains audio recordings from a 1974 meeting of the Film Council, a group of non profit film exhibition folks: librarians, museums and distributors in NYC, who met once a month to talk about non commercial film.
Series V: Flaherty + Misc.
This series contains miscellaneous of audio material from various Film Seminars and activities.
Series VI: Seminar and Administrative Papers.
This series contains the paper records of the Robert Flaherty Film Seminar Archive. It consists of packets and brochures handed out at the seminars, programs, press and publicity, planning, grant applications, and all papers pertaining to the daily operations of the organization. The papers have been arranged chronologically by year, and alphabetically within the year. Original folder titles have been maintained where possible.
Series VII: Financial Papers.
This series contains the financial papers of the Robert Flaherty Film Seminar Archive. It includes budget reports, tax papers, cancelled checks, bills, and all other financial material. The papers have been arranged chronologically by year, and alphabetically within the year. Original folder titles have been maintained where possible.
Subjects
Genres
People
Conditions Governing Access
Repository permission is required for access. Please contact the Fales Library and Special Collections, fales.library@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright (or related rights to publicity and privacy) for materials in this collection was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder. Please contact the Fales Library and Special Collections, fales.library@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596.
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date (if known); The Robert Flaherty Film Seminar Archives ; MSS 326; unique identification number; Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University Libraries.
Provenance
The Robert Flaherty Film Seminar Archive was donated to NYU Libraries in 2012.
Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures
Access to audiovisual materials in this collection is available through digitized access copies. Researchers may view an item's original container, but the media themselves are not available for playback because of preservation concerns. Materials that have already been digitized are noted in the collection's finding aid and can be requested in our reading room. To request an access copy, or if you are unsure if an item has been digitized, please contact special.collections@nyu.edu with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.
Provenance
The Robert Flaherty Film Seminar Archives was donated to Fales Library by Mary Kerr, Executive Director of The Flaherty, in 2012.
About this Guide
Processing Information
The collection was processed at the box level.
