Site Archive

Herskovits at the heart of blackness
Written by David Tames on July 29, 2009
Filed Under Documentary, Events & Screenings, Films

This new documentary examines the role of anthropologist Melville J. Herskovits (1895-1963) in American history and asks important questions about the politics of scholarship and knowledge as a social construct. Herskovits, a controversial...  Continue Reading...

Maria’s Story and its role in the technological history of documentary filmmaking
Written by David Tames on September 20, 2008
Filed Under Documentary, Filmmaking, Media Technology, Reviews

Maria’s Story (1990, Monona Wali & Pamela Cohen, 53 min.) is a documentary portrait of Maria Serrano, a 39-year-old woman who is a peasant, mother, and guerrilla leader who at the time the film was made, had spent over...  Continue Reading...

Inventing the Movies
Written by David Tames on July 31, 2008
Filed Under Books, Business, Filmmakers, Filmmaking, Interviews, Media Technology, Television, The Media

Some of the things I love about summer are weekend trips to the Berkshires, taking time off for a vacation, and all that means more time available to read books. On my summer reading stack this year was an advance copy of Inventing...  Continue Reading...

One from the vaults
Written by David Tames on September 2, 2005
Filed Under Filmmaking, Preservation

In a recent search for other images I came across this. Tom Heitman, director of preservation and restoration at Cineric, Inc., showed me this can on a visit to the facility on May 20, 2002. This film has sections of cellulose triacetate...  Continue Reading...