TEDx Phoenixville 2011: The Gifts of Documentary by Albert Maysles

Albert Maysles is a pioneer of Direct Cinema who, with his brother David were the first to make nonfiction feature films (GIMME SHELTER, SALESMAN, GREY GARDENS) where the drama of life unfolds as is without scripts, sets, interviews or narration. His first film, PSYCHIATRY IN RUSSIA (1955) he made in transition from psychologist to documentary filmmaker. In 1960 he served as co-filmmaker of PRIMARY. His 36 films include WHAT''S HAPPENING? THE BEATLES IN THE USA (1964), five film of the projects of Christo and Jeanne-Claude (1972 to 1995), and a sixth, THE GATES (2007), MEET MARLON BRANDO (1965) and three documentaries for HBO. He received a Guggenheim Fellowship (1965), a Peabody, an Emmy, five Lifetime Achievement Awards, the award for best cinematography at Sundance (2002) for LALEE'S KIN which was also nominated in 2001 for an Academy Award and the Columbia Dupont Award (2004). In 1999 Eastman Kodak saluted him as one of the 100 world's finest cinematographers.