LES BLANK, one of the greatest
documentary film directors, just died....We are losing so many heroes of
cinema !
Born 1935 in Florida,
Les Blank graduated Tulane University (BA, English literature; MFA, theatre),
Ph.D. film program at USC, and five years freelancing in Los Angeles. To
finance his own films, Blank made industrial films from 1967-1972.
His films are
intimate journeys into the lives, music, and cooking of passionate people on
the edge of American society. They have shown theatrically, and at New York's
Museum of Modern Art, London's National Film Theatre, and Cinematheque Francais
in Paris. American Film, Film Quarterly, Take One, New York Times, Los Angeles
Times, Village Voice, Rolling Stone, Premiere, NPR and CNN did stories about him.
Blank won the British
Oscar, San Francisco Film
Festival, Grand Prize at Melbourne, Jury Award at Sundance, Grand Award at Houston, Golden Hugo at Chicago, Euro $10,000
prize, AFI's Lifetime Achievement, both the National Endowment for the Arts and
Humanities, grants from Ford and Guggenheim Foundations, PBS, BBC, and was UC
Berkeley and Dartmouth professor....Blank toured with his films throughout
China, England, Spain, Germany, Italy, Latin America, and Egypt. He's a member
of the Motion Picture Academy in Hollywood....He has 4 films in production: about rare
tea from China, and legendary filmmaker Richard Leacock.
DIRECTOR (37 films)
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