Robert Gardner

Known for DirectingBorn 1925-11-05Died 2014-06-21Brookline, Massachusetts, USA

Robert Gardner was the Director of the Film Study Center at Harvard University from 1957 to 1997. He is known for his work in the field of non-fiction film. He is an internationally renowned filmmaker and author whose works have entered the permanent canon of non-fiction filmmaking. Some of his most prominent films include Dead Birds (1964), a lyric account of the Dugum Dani, a Stone Age society at one time living an isolated existence in the Highlands of the former Netherlands New Guinea (Gardner was the leader of the Peabody Museum-sponsored expedition to study the Dani in 1961-62); Rivers of Sand (1974), a social commentary on the Hamar people of southwestern Ethiopia; and Forest of Bliss (1985), a cinematic essay on the ancient city of Benares, India, which explores the ceremonies, rituals, and industries associated with death and regeneration. Gardner’s films have received numerous awards, including the Robert J. Flaherty Award for best nonfiction film (twice); the Golden Lion for Best Film at the Florence Film Festival (three times); and First Prizes at the Trento, USA Dallas, Melbourne, Nuoro, EarthWatch, Athens, and San Francisco film festivals. His films have been invited to Festivals throughout the world including Jerusalem, Bergen, London, Munich, Toronto, Montreal, Margaret Mead, Marseilles, Locarno, Chicago and Cinema du Réel.Read more

Movies & web series

Loving Krishna

Pilot Notes: Journals Of A Solitary Aviator

Time Indefinite

The Shepherds of Berneray

Altar of Fire

Rivers of Sand

Forest of Bliss

The Hunters

Dead Birds

Reality's Invisible

The Nuer

Q'eros: The Shape of Survival

Expedition Content

Deus Ex Boltanski

Still Journey On

Oh, What a Blow That Phantom Gave Me!

Islam: Empire of Faith

Looking at Forest of Bliss

Good to Pull (Bon a Tirer)

Sean Scully: Passenger

Scully in Malaga

Sean Scully: Testigos AKA The Witnesses

It Could Be Good, It Could Be Bad

Dancing with Miklos

Ika Hands

Hauling Sharks

Serpent Mother

Sons of Shiva

Life Keeps on Passing

Supplicating Women

Deep Hearts

Healing

Mark Tobey Abroad

Policeman

Farmer

Lobsterman

Anthem

Screening Room

Land-Divers of Melanesia

Salt

Creatures of Pain

The Photographer

Tide

The Great Sail

Marathon

People and Particles

Flaherty and Film

The Old Lady AKA A Human Document