Herb Di Gioia

Herb Di Gioia is a documentary film director who pioneered the field of "observational cinema" in his work and impacted ethnographic film making through his contributions as a teacher at Britain’s National Film and Television School. Di Gioia's films are recognized as a significant departure from the better-known works of other observational documentarians, like David and Judith MacDougall.Grimshaw, Anna. (Spring 2006) [http://www.anthrosource.net/doi/abs/10.1525/var.2006.22.1.46 Herb Di Gioia Abstract] Article published in "Visual Anthropology Review" Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 46-59. Abstract accessed September 16 2007.]

Work

The UCLA-educated Di Gioia was not an anthropologist by profession, but was drawn to the field by an interest in exploring the lives of ordinary people. [cite book | last =Grimshaw | first =Anna | title =The Ethnographers Eye: Ways of Seeing in Anthropology | publisher =Cambridge UP | date = | location = | pages = 129 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 0521774756] In the early 1970s, Di Gioia and his partner David Hancock became involved in the work of filmmaker Norman Miller, upon whom the National Science Foundation had bestowed a grant to produce a film series examining global ecological zones. Di Gioia and Hancock produced several films in Afghanistan which were incorporated into the "Faces of Change" Collection.

After the death of his partner, Di Gioia focused predominantly on teaching, training anthropologists and filmmaking students at the National Film and Television School in ethnographic filmmaking. He is credited as one of the pioneers of the "observational cinema" form. [cite book | last =Grimshaw | first = Anna | authorlink = | coauthors = Amanda Ravetz | title = Visualizing Anthropology | publisher = Intellect Books | date = | location = Bristol | pages = 22 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 1841501123]

Notes

Filmography

* "Afghan Nomads" (1974)
* "Afghan Village" (1974)
* "Naim and Jabar" (1974)
* "Wheat Cycle" (1975)

ee also

*John Marshall
*Robert Gardner
*Tim Asch

Related Links

* [http://www.der.org/films/faces-of-change-afghan.html "Faces of Change: Afghan Series"]