- William Greaves
:"There was also a William M. H. Greaves who was
Astronomer Royal for Scotland , 1938-1955."William Greaves (born inNew York City , 1926) is a documentary filmmaker and is considered by many to be the "Dean" of African-American filmmakers.Fact|date=September 2007In New York he graduated from the elite
Stuyvesant High School in 1944. [cite web |url=http://www.indiana.edu/~bfca/collection/special/greaves.html |title= The Black Film Center/Archive - William Greaves Collection |publisher=Black Film Center/Archive atIndiana University |accessdate=2007-11-01] Interested in drama he studied atThe Actor's Studio and had a number of roles on Broadway and in motion pictures. He found that because of his race he was confined to marginal and often insulting roles. He decided the only way to rectify this was to move behind the camera, and he began to take directing classes at theCity College of New York . Finding few opportunities in the United States he left forCanada in 1952.There he accepted an editing position with the
National Film Board of Canada , and quickly rose through the ranks to become one of the leading members of the Board's renowned Unit B. He left the NFB in 1963, and returned to the United States where he was eager to document theCivil Rights movement. In 1968, after making films for theUnited Nations and theUnited States Information Agency , he established his own production company and for the next several decades his films were either produced independently, several forPBS . Between 1968 and 1970, he was Executive Producer and co-host of "Black Journal", the first Black-produced news and public affairs series on network television.His 1968 avant-garde film "Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One" was released theatrically in 2005 to critical acclaim and, together with its 2005 sequel "Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take 2 1/2"' executive produced by
Steven Soderbergh , was awarded the 2005 Best Experimental film by the National Society of Film Critics. He has won many awards during his career, including anEmmy for "Black Journal".References
External links
* [http://www.williamgreaves.com/ williamgreaves.com]
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