Robert Gardner
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.
Flaherty and Film
(Self - Host)
Time Indefinite
(Himself)
Q'eros: The Shape of Survival
(Narrator)
Dead Birds
(Narrator)
Reality's Invisible
(Himself)
Looking at Forest of Bliss
(Himself)
Fort Rupert
(Narrator)
Loving Krishna
(Narrator)
Serpent Mother
(Narrator)
Oh, What a Blow That Phantom Gave Me!
(Self)
Screening Room
(Himself)
Rivers of Sand
(Director)
Forest of Bliss
(Director)
Dead Birds
(Director)
Altar of Fire
(Director)
Mark Tobey
(Director)
Blunden Harbour
(Director)
Deep Hearts
(Editor)
The Nuer
(Producer)
Marathon
(Director)
Dancing with Miklos
(Director)
The Hunters
(Director)
Deep Hearts
(Director)
Deep Hearts
(Cinematography)
Ika Hands
(Director)
Sons of Shiva
(Director)
Mark Tobey Abroad
(Director)
Land-Divers of Melanesia
(Director)
The Shepherds of Berneray
(Executive Producer)
Dead Birds
(Cinematography)
Dead Birds
(Writer)
Dead Birds
(Editor)
The Nuer
(Additional Photography)
Mark Tobey Abroad
(Cinematography)
Mark Tobey Abroad
(Producer)
Ika Hands
(Cinematography)
Rivers of Sand
(Editor)
Forest of Bliss
(Editor)
Rivers of Sand
(Writer)
Forest of Bliss
(Cinematography)
Rivers of Sand
(Cinematography)
Forest of Bliss
(Producer)
Pilot Notes: Journals Of A Solitary Aviator
(Cinematography)
Expedition Content
(Additional Photography)
Looking at Forest of Bliss
(Director)
Deep Hearts
(Sound Recordist)
Ika Hands
(Writer)
Ika Hands
(Editor)
Dances of the Kwakiutl
(Producer)
Good to Pull (Bon a Tirer)
(Director)
Scully in Malaga
(Director)
Sean Scully: Passenger
(Director)
Sean Scully: Testigos AKA The Witnesses
(Director)
Policeman
(Director)
Farmer
(Director)
Lobsterman
(Director)
The Old Lady AKA A Human Document
(Director)
Salt
(Director)
The Photographer
(Director)
Tide
(Director)
Creatures of Pain
(Director)
Anthem
(Director)
Healing
(Director)
Life Keeps on Passing
(Director)
Supplicating Women
(Director)
Hauling Sharks
(Director)
It Could Be Good, It Could Be Bad
(Director)
Deus Ex Boltanski
(Director)
Still Journey On
(Director)
The Great Sail
(Director)
People and Particles
(Producer)
Screening Room
(Director)
Islam: Empire of Faith
(Director)
Screening Room
(Creator)