- Home
- Archive
- Old Categories
- Film
- Stanley Nelson's Film Shortlist
Stanley Nelson's Film Shortlist
The Shortlist article series is your opportunity to learn about the films that inspire intellectual, artistic and activist leaders--leaders like filmmaker Stanley Nelson. We asked Stanley to share his favorite films and his thoughts on the power of documentary to change the world. So what films make Stanley Nelson's Shortlist? Keep reading to find out.
Who is Stanley Nelson?
Stanley Nelson, a MacArthur "genius" Fellow, is Executive Producer of Firelight Media, a nonprofit documentary production company dedicated to highlighting people and issues that are marginalized in popular culture. Nelson is best known for his groundbreaking historical documentaries which include; Marcus Garvey: Look for Me in the Whirlwind, The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords, Two Dollars and a Dream: The Story of Madame C. J. Walker and A'lelia Walker, A Place of Our Own, Sweet Honey in the Rock: Raise Your Voice, The Murder of Emmett Till, and most recently Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple. His films have individually won nearly every award in film and broadcasting including a Primetime Emmy, a duPont-Columbia Silver Baton and the highest honor in broadcast journalism--the George Foster Peabody Award. The U.S. Justice Department cited the presence of witnesses unearthed in The Murder of Emmett Till as a major factor in their decision to reopen the 1955 case of the fourteen-year-old black boy murdered for whistling at a white woman. Nelson holds a B.F.A. in film from the City College of New York. He has taught film at Howard University and trained broadcast journalists in Rwanda.
Stanley Nelson on the Power of Film
When I was in my early twenties a friend and I were walking by a theatre in New York that was showing a film called The Murder of Fred Hampton. The name sparked our interest but it had already started so we talked the manager into letting us in for free. I had never seen a documentary like that, especially not in a theatre. I was used to boring docs in school, but I was so moved by this film and I immediately understood the power of documentaries. Anything that could literally pull me off the street and move me could move anybody.
As documentary filmmakers we have the ability to tell stories that others wouldn't normally see, hear or know about in any other way. We can get closer to the truth by going behind the scenes, dig deeper into a story than with fiction film, and we can use a number of different tools to tell the story—writing, visuals and audio material. And with new technology, the range of ways to tell our stories is expanding, which is very exciting.
Stanley Nelson's Film Picks
Bus 174: I thought this was a great film. On the surface it tells the story of a fantastic event—this dramatic hijacking of a city bus in Rio by a young Afro-Brazilian man, which is an event I knew nothing about. But in telling that one story it manages to say so much about Brazil, race and class at the same time.
Eyes on the Prize: This epic fourteen-hour series dissects the civil rights movement in minute detail, but at the same time manages to be entertaining from moment to moment. It's in a class of its own.
The Thin Blue Line: The storytelling was inspiring. There are a few doc films that I've seen and thought, "I wish I had made that, but I never could have made that." This film made me feel that way.
Intimate Stranger: This film has so much style. It's a film about Alan Berliner's grandfather who never really did anything; he's just a regular guy. But the film is a triumph of style over plot and content. It shows that if you have enough chops and style you can make a great film about almost anything.
Africans in America: When this four-hour series on the history of African-Americans from slavery to the Civil War aired in the late 1980s, it raised the bar for me as an African-American filmmaker. The sheer scope of the film made this project an enormous task, but it was also incredibly produced, researched, edited and directed. I was inspired that they found a way to tell this important story, which could have easily been lost history.
When We Were Kings: What can I say? I just like it! It's a character study of Muhammad Ali. It tells the story of the infamous "Rumble in the Jungle" fight with George Foreman in Zaire, and it's a concert film all rolled into one—incredibly entertaining.
Twelve Disciples of Nelson Mandela: This is a story about the filmmaker's relationship with his stepfather, and then his stepfather's role in the anti-apartheid movement told through dramatic reenactments and interviews. I thought it was incredible how Harris balanced a dramatic, historical and personal film—so creative and original.
Harlan County: Barbara Kopple came to my college class when she was making this film about the coal miners on strike in Kentucky and showed a rough cut. I was amazed that she was so young and making this great film. It really inspired me to think, "I can do that too!"
Bounce back
Who is Stanley Nelson?
Stanley Nelson, a MacArthur "genius" Fellow, is Executive Producer of Firelight Media, a nonprofit documentary production company dedicated to highlighting people and issues that are marginalized in popular culture. Nelson is best known for his groundbreaking historical documentaries which include; Marcus Garvey: Look for Me in the Whirlwind, The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords, Two Dollars and a Dream: The Story of Madame C. J. Walker and A'lelia Walker, A Place of Our Own, Sweet Honey in the Rock: Raise Your Voice, The Murder of Emmett Till, and most recently Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple. His films have individually won nearly every award in film and broadcasting including a Primetime Emmy, a duPont-Columbia Silver Baton and the highest honor in broadcast journalism--the George Foster Peabody Award. The U.S. Justice Department cited the presence of witnesses unearthed in The Murder of Emmett Till as a major factor in their decision to reopen the 1955 case of the fourteen-year-old black boy murdered for whistling at a white woman. Nelson holds a B.F.A. in film from the City College of New York. He has taught film at Howard University and trained broadcast journalists in Rwanda.
Stanley Nelson on the Power of Film
When I was in my early twenties a friend and I were walking by a theatre in New York that was showing a film called The Murder of Fred Hampton. The name sparked our interest but it had already started so we talked the manager into letting us in for free. I had never seen a documentary like that, especially not in a theatre. I was used to boring docs in school, but I was so moved by this film and I immediately understood the power of documentaries. Anything that could literally pull me off the street and move me could move anybody.
As documentary filmmakers we have the ability to tell stories that others wouldn't normally see, hear or know about in any other way. We can get closer to the truth by going behind the scenes, dig deeper into a story than with fiction film, and we can use a number of different tools to tell the story—writing, visuals and audio material. And with new technology, the range of ways to tell our stories is expanding, which is very exciting.
Stanley Nelson's Film Picks
Bus 174: I thought this was a great film. On the surface it tells the story of a fantastic event—this dramatic hijacking of a city bus in Rio by a young Afro-Brazilian man, which is an event I knew nothing about. But in telling that one story it manages to say so much about Brazil, race and class at the same time.
Eyes on the Prize: This epic fourteen-hour series dissects the civil rights movement in minute detail, but at the same time manages to be entertaining from moment to moment. It's in a class of its own.
The Thin Blue Line: The storytelling was inspiring. There are a few doc films that I've seen and thought, "I wish I had made that, but I never could have made that." This film made me feel that way.
Intimate Stranger: This film has so much style. It's a film about Alan Berliner's grandfather who never really did anything; he's just a regular guy. But the film is a triumph of style over plot and content. It shows that if you have enough chops and style you can make a great film about almost anything.
Africans in America: When this four-hour series on the history of African-Americans from slavery to the Civil War aired in the late 1980s, it raised the bar for me as an African-American filmmaker. The sheer scope of the film made this project an enormous task, but it was also incredibly produced, researched, edited and directed. I was inspired that they found a way to tell this important story, which could have easily been lost history.
When We Were Kings: What can I say? I just like it! It's a character study of Muhammad Ali. It tells the story of the infamous "Rumble in the Jungle" fight with George Foreman in Zaire, and it's a concert film all rolled into one—incredibly entertaining.
Twelve Disciples of Nelson Mandela: This is a story about the filmmaker's relationship with his stepfather, and then his stepfather's role in the anti-apartheid movement told through dramatic reenactments and interviews. I thought it was incredible how Harris balanced a dramatic, historical and personal film—so creative and original.
Harlan County: Barbara Kopple came to my college class when she was making this film about the coal miners on strike in Kentucky and showed a rough cut. I was amazed that she was so young and making this great film. It really inspired me to think, "I can do that too!"
Bounce back
