Robert Gardner

Biography

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 invite…

Directed

1. Forest of Bliss (1986) — Director
2. Dead Birds (1963) — Director
3. The Hunters (1957) — Director
4. Rivers of Sand (1974) — Director
5. Altar of Fire (1976) — Director
6. Mark Tobey (1952) — Director
7. Blunden Harbour (1951) — Director
8. Marathon (1965) — Director
9. Dancing with Miklos (1993) — Director
10. Deep Hearts (1980) — Director
11. Ika Hands (1988) — Director
12. Sons of Shiva (1985) — Director
13. Mark Tobey Abroad (1973) — Director
14. Land-Divers of Melanesia (1972) — Director
15. Looking at Forest of Bliss (2000) — Director
16. Good to Pull (Bon a Tirer) (2000) — Director
17. Scully in Malaga (1997) — Director
18. Sean Scully: Passenger (1998) — Director
19. Sean Scully: Testigos AKA The Witnesses (1997) — Director
20. Policeman (1973) — Director
21. Farmer (1973) — Director
22. Lobsterman (1973) — Director
23. The Old Lady AKA A Human Document (1958) — Director
24. Salt (1968) — Director
25. The Photographer (1966) — Director
26. Tide (1966) — Director
27. Creatures of Pain (1968) — Director
28. Anthem (1973) — Director
29. Healing (1978) — Director
30. Life Keeps on Passing (1985) — Director
31. Supplicating Women (1985) — Director
32. Hauling Sharks (1988) — Director
33. It Could Be Good, It Could Be Bad (1997) — Director
34. Deus Ex Boltanski (2010) — Director
35. Still Journey On (2010) — Director
36. The Great Sail (1966) — Director
37. Screening Room (1972) — Director
38. Islam: Empire of Faith (2001) — Director

Also appeared in

1. Time Indefinite (1993) — Himself
2. Dead Birds (1963) — Narrator
3. Reality's Invisible (1972) — Self
4. Q'eros: The Shape of Survival (1979) — Narrator
5. Loving Krishna (1985) — Narrator
6. Flaherty and Film (1960) — Self - Host
7. Looking at Forest of Bliss (2000) — Himself
8. Fort Rupert (1951) — Narrator
9. Serpent Mother (1985) — Narrator
10. Oh, What a Blow That Phantom Gave Me! (2003) — Self
11. Screening Room (1972) — Himself