Clips/ Feature Article

Hampshire College Gets High Marks in Film
By Richard Trombly | Bravo: June 1998

EXCERPT

Though commercial film has been traditionally dominated by large studios, in the quarter century since Hampshire College was founded, Hampshire's students have been finding their niche.

Hampshire College alumni have made their mark in many aspects of the film industry. Among many accolades, there have been numerous nominations for Academy Awards given to films and documentaries made by Hampshire College graduates. One of the most publicly acclaimed alumni is Ken Burns who, since he produced serials on the Civil War and on baseball for P.B.S. television, has received much attention by the press.

Abraham Ravett, a professor of Photography and Film at Hampshire College since 1979, said that he did not want to minimize the accomplishments of Ken Burns, but that he felt that there might be other measures of success.

"There are many people from our program who do not have the notoriety of Ken Burns," he said. "But they are working in the field, producing in their medium and affecting the culture at large."

"[The alumni] are not just working in the industry or independent film, but in many unheralded corners of the film world," said Bill Brandt, Associate Professor of Film and Photography.

Ravett said that an example of an alumnus who is working in an alternative to film, is Emily Hubley, who has been a successful animator for 15 years. Ravett said her work has been supported through a number of grants as well as the cable television industry.

Joel Olicker also made his mark in television. After working for WGBY Channel 2, he has gone on to become the co-owner of Powderhouse Productions where he has made productions for The Discovery Channel, said Ravett.

Another maker of independent films, Buddy Squires is a co-founder of Florentine Films and worked with Ken Burns and received academy award nominations for his work on "Brooklyn Bridge," "Garden of Eden" and "Statue of Liberty."

Thomas Sigel won the Oscar in 1986 for "Witness to War: Dr. Charlie Clements," in the short documentary category. He also worked on "Platoon" which had multiple Oscar nominations in 1987.

Robert Epstein was also a recipient of an Oscar in 1996. His documentary "Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt" tells the history of the Names Project which started the ever-growing quilt in 1987 to memorialize the AIDS epidemic. In 1985, he also was nominated for the film "The Life and Times of Harvey Milk."

Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon, a husband and wife team, have made a documentary film on the architect Buckminster Fuller. The work entitled ÒPhantom Captain: A Voyage with R. Buckminster FullerÓ was released in 1996. Professor Ravett said that they won a Peabody Award for their effort. For this creative team, this is just one of their several award-winning or award-nominated works.

In 1990, they made "Chimps Like Us," a short documentary on the primatologist Jane Goodall and her work with chimpanzees, some of which was shot on location in Africa.

In 1989, Goodman was also nominated for her documentary short film "The Children's Storefront" about an inner city New York alternative school. Simon received a nomination in 1987 for his documentary on Yiddish writer Isaac Bashevis Singer entitled "Isaac in America."

Their work for PBS television, "Backstage at Masterpiece Theater," won an Emmy award. Goodman also received an Emmy nomination for the piece "No Applause, Just Throw Money."

Brandt said that three years ago a student, Benjamin Goldman, took top prize overall for his senior film project at the New England Film Festival and that a series by Alex Rivera will air this summer on the New York area PBS television channel.

Ravett said that the Photography and Film department has produced students with strong skills in photography, publishing, computer graphics and commercial film.

"We have a strong interdisciplinary program," said Ravett. "All kinds of liberal arts students, not just film majors, go into film or some aspect of it."

Ravett said that the department supports a multimedia approach to film.

"We don't discourage any visual art use, rather we embrace video, visual imaging technologies, visual arts and all mediums," he said. "For example, film stock can be transferred to video for editing, where digital imaging may be added. The results can then be returned to the film medium."

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