news

Churchill Roberts’ Shortlist

Published on March 13, 2009

The Shortlist article series is your opportunity to learn about the films that inspire intellectual, artistic and activist leaders—leaders like Churchill Roberts. We asked Churchill Roberts to share his favorite films and his thoughts on the power of documentary to change the world.

So what films make Churchill Roberts’ Shortlist? Keep reading to find out.

Who is Churchill Roberts?

Churchill Roberts

Churchill Roberts is a documentary filmmaker and co-director of the Documentary Institute at the University of Florida. Mr. Roberts received his BA from the University of Tennessee, MA from Memphis State University, and Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. He has been a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Michigan and Harvard University.

He is the author of numerous articles which have appeared in communication journals and is co-author of Discovering Mass Communication (1992). He served as co-director of several PBS documentaries, including Giving Up the Canal (1990), Campaign for Cuba (1992), Last Days of the Revolution (1994), Freedom Never Dies (2001), and Negroes With Guns (2006).

He and his colleagues have just completed a Holocaust-related film, Angel of Ahlem, and have begun work on a film based on the life of Petr Ginz, a brilliant young Czech writer and artist who was sent to the Terezin concentration camp at age 14 and perished at Auschwitz two years later.

Churchill Roberts on the Power of Film

I first realized the power of documentary when I watched the Edward R. Murrow and Fred Friendly series, See It Now. Murrow and Friendly took on McCarthyism and Senator Joseph McCarthy himself in their programs about civil liberties and communist witch hunts. While over-the-air network documentaries have declined in number, PBS and cable television have made documentary more important and powerful than ever.

Churchill Roberts Picks

Night and Fog: Still one of the best films ever made about the Holocaust. An artistic but respectful treatment of a very sensitive subject.

Man With a Movie Camera: Dziga Vertov’s theories about film come to life in this kaleidoscope of editing techniques and camera mischief. The power of this film was difficult to appreciate until several years ago when the Alloy Orchestra, using Vertov’s own notes, composed and performed a musical score for the documentary.

A Time for Burning: Credit both the observational style of Bill Jersey and the Lutheran Church’s Robert E.A. Lee for this powerful documentary about resistance to social change in the Lutheran Church.

Salesman: A real-life version of Arthur Miller’s Death of A Salesman. Al and David Maysles show us the power of the observational style in this classic film about four door-to-door bible salesmen.

Paul Tomkowicz: Street Railway Switchman: Paul Tomkowicz is a short film, only nine minutes long, but it remains one of my favorites—perhaps for sentimental reasons. Produced in 1953 by the National Film Board’s famous director, Roman Kroitor, it is a portrait of a street railway sweeper in Winnipeg nearing retirement and reminiscing about life as he goes about his work on the night shift.

The warmth of Paul’s personality, enhanced by Polish folk music and a masterful delivery (though not Paul’s actual voice) stands in marked contrast to the bitter cold of the Canadian winter. An overhead night shot of Paul, silhouetted against the snow by a lantern, is one of my favorites in a documentary.

This article is available for noncommercial use under a Creative Commons license. It was originally published on MediaRights.org, a project of Arts Engine, Inc. This notice must accompany the article at all times.

No Comments | Leave a Comment | Share: