Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
A moving account, in his own words, of the personal life and work of the brilliant Czech filmmaker Miloš Forman (1932-2018): his tragic childhood, his major contribution to the cultural movement known as the Czech New Wave, his exile in Paris, his troubled days in New York, his rise to stardom in Hollywood; a complete existence in the service of cinema.
Himself
An hour-long filmed profile of Amos Vogel, 82-year old New York resident and Austrian emigre, founder of the New York Film Festival and America's most important film society, Cinema 16.
Researcher
When Hitler's infamous "Anschluss" annexed Austria to Germany in 1938, the lives of 130,000 Jewish Austrians were placed at risk. Over the next three years, some 30,000 managed to emigrate to the United States, settling mainly in New York City. In Austrian filmmaker Egon Humer's brilliant and moving documentary EMIGRATION N.Y., twelve Viennese Jews -- seven women, five men -- recount their lives as children in Austria, as emigrants, as New Yorkers. Deceptively simple in style, the film gathers striking emotional power as its subjects (who include Amos Vogel, co-founder of the New York Film Festival) offer fresh and often surprising views on their experience of exile and assimilation.
Himself
Maya Deren is a legend of avant-garde cinema. This authoritative biography of the charismatic filmmaker, poet and anthropologist features excerpts from her pioneering Meshes of the Afternoon and her unfinished documentary on Haiti, interviews with Stan Brakhage and Jonas Mekas, and recordings of her lectures. Narrated by actress Helen Mirren, this definitive documentary offers startling insights into one of the most intriguing, accomplished figures in cinema history.
Editor
1954. USA. Directed by Weegee. Part of Weegee’s New York. “Weegee (Arthur Fellig) filmed, Amos Vogel edited. The preciousness of the avant-garde shown at Cinema 16 was interrupted by this breath of fresh air. Weegee’s panorama of the crowd may be the greatest single shot in cinedom.” – Ken Jacobs
Editor
The best known, "Weegee's New York" (1948), presents a surprisingly lyrical view of the city without a hint of crime or murder. Already this film gives evidence, here very restrained, of Weegee's interest in technical tricks: blur, speeded up or slowed-down film, a lens that makes the city's streets curve as if cars are driving over a rainbow. - The New York Times
