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 invited to Festivals throughout the world including Jerusalem, Bergen, London, Munich, Toronto, Montreal, Margaret Mead, Marseilles, Locarno, Chicago and Cinema du Réel.

Known For

Screening Room

Himself

Dead Birds

Narrator

Q'eros: The Shape of Survival

Narrator

Flaherty and Film

Self - Host

Reality's Invisible

Himself

Looking at Forest of Bliss

Himself

Serpent Mother

Narrator

Loving Krishna

Narrator

Filmography

Year	Movie	Role
2000	Looking at Forest of Bliss	Himself
1985	Loving Krishna	Narrator
1985	Serpent Mother	Narrator
1979	Q'eros: The Shape of Survival	Narrator
1972	Reality's Invisible	Himself
1963	Dead Birds	Narrator
1960	Flaherty and Film	Self - Host
1951	Fort Rupert	Narrator

Year	TV Show	Role
1972	Screening Room	Himself