D. A. Pennebaker

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Donn Alan "D. A." Pennebaker (born July 15, 1925 in Evanston, Illinois) is an American documentary filmmaker and one of the pioneers of Direct Cinema. Performing arts (especially pop music) and politics are his primary subjects.

In the early 1960s Pennebaker (known as "Penny" to his friends), together with Richard Leacock and Robert Drew, founded Drew Associates. In 1963 Leacock and Pennebaker left to found their own production firm. Later he often worked with his wife, Chris Hegedus. Their company, Pennebaker Hegedus Films, has made a number of influential documentaries. Sometimes called "Pennebaker documentaries", these films, shot with an obviously hand-held camera, typically eschew voice-over narration and interviews in favor of a "simple" portrayal of events.

[edit] Selected filmography

• Primary (1960)
• Dont Look Back (1967, filmed 1965) with Bob Dylan
• Monterey Pop (1968, filmed 1967)
• Sweet Toronto (1971, filmed 1969)
• Keep On Rockin' (1969) - a film involving Little Richard
• Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1973) with David Bowie
• Town Bloody Hall (1979)
• DeLorean (1981) with John DeLorean
• Jimi Plays Monterey (1986) with Jimi Hendrix
• 101 (1989)
• The War Room (1993)
• Woodstock Diary (1994)
• Moon over Broadway (1997)
• Down from the Mountain (2000)
• Elaine Stritch: At Liberty (2004) portrait of Elaine Stritch
• Rebirth (unreleased)
• Eat the Document (unreleased, filmed 1966)
• Only the Strong Survive (2003)
• Al Franken: God Spoke (2006)
• Rock N Roll Music - a film involving Chuck Berry
• 65 Revisited - (2007)1 hr documentary, accompanies new DVD release of Dont Look Back

[edit] External Link

• D. A. Pennebaker at the Internet Movie Database
• Pennebaker Hegedus Films
• Q&A with D. A. Pennebaker, 2007

[edit] Further Reading

• Aitken, Ian ed. Encyclopedia of the Documentary Film. Routledge (2005)
• Dave Saunders, Direct Cinema: Observational Documentary and the Politics of the Sixties, London, Wallflower Press 2007