Projections of America
Eine geheime Propagandaeinheit der amerikanischen Armee sollte im Zweiten Weltkrieg ein neues Bild von Amerika entwerfen und es dem Feind vermitteln. Die produzierten Filme erzählten nicht von Amerikas Stärke, Panzern oder Flugzeugträgern, sondern porträtierten amerikanischen Alltag – sie zeigten Kleinstädte und ihre Bewohner, Cowboys und Industriearbeiter.
Ihre Filme verbreiteten keinerlei Ressentiments, sondern erzählten schlicht vom „American way of life“. PROJECTIONS OF AMERICA rekonstruiert die Entstehung dieser Filme, ihre Wahrnehmung und wie sie unter die Leute gebracht wurden.
Der Film erzählt die dramatische Geschichte einer Gruppe von Visionären im Office of War Information und die ihres charismatischen Chefs: dem Oskar-Preisträger Robert Riskin.
1. Platz Metta Media Award, Dallas VideoFest 2015
International Festival of Films on Art, Montreal 2015
Stony Brook Film Festival 2015
San Francisco Jewish Film Festival 2015
Dallas VideoFest 2015
Virginia Film Festival 2015
Boston Jewish Film Festival 2015
Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival 2015
Santa Fe Film Festival 2015
New York Jewish Film Festival 2016
Santa Barbara Film Festival 2016
San Diego Jewish Film Festival 2016
Beaufort International Film Festival 2016
Chicago Jewish Film Festival 2016
Salem Film Fest 2016
North Hollywood International Film Festival 2016
The Los Angeles Beat: As with the best films about filmmaking and filmmakers the pleasures of PROJECTIONS OF AMERICA, Peter Miller’s wonderful addition to what is becoming one of the preeminent bodies of work in current documentary cinema, are multi-layered. And as the narrative of this profoundly moving film unfolds it is difficult to sort out whether the wonderment is more from the story itself, the beauty with which it is told or the drama and suffering of the world war within which it takes place.
Forward: A documentary gem.
Dallas Film Now A lovingly crafted homage to screenwriter Robert Riskin and his team of Hollywood artists who assisted in the war effort by producing and spreading our own propaganda films immediately after liberating certain countries. Initially – and rightfully – distrustful of the Allied forces, Riskin’s films of everyday life in America… helped to lessen the citizen’s unease… PROJECTIONS OF AMERICA touches deeply on two of my favorite subjects – World War II and the movies – which only endeared the documentary to my heart and many festival goers as well.
The Jewish Week: Miller wisely chooses Riskin as his point of entry into the subject, not only because as a Jewish-American Riskin had a lot at stake in the war and its aftermath, but because as a veteran of a particular moment in Hollywood history, Riskin brought an unusual skill set to the task of introducing the rest of the world to the still relatively unfamiliar American way(s) of life. Add to that Riskin’s winning personality and eloquence, and the story of his courtship of and marriage to Fay Wray, and you have a splendid armature for what might otherwise have been just another piece of Hollywood Americana.
This Week In New York:Together, PROJECTIONS OF AMERICA and THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A JEEP shed light on a fascinating aspect of what the country believed itself to be and what its hopes and dreams were for the future.
Unseen Films: You’ll forgive me if this is brief because the film is nigh impossible to critique. A breezy, no nonsense film it tells you everything you need to know about the films and why their shunting to a back alley of film history is a real shame.
Santa Fe New Mexican: PROJECTIONS OF AMERICA is especially timely, as politicians and citizens argue over immigration and refugee issues in the wake of terrorist attacks and civil wars raging outside of our borders, as well as the very nature of what it means to be an American.
Huffington Post: One of the documentaries featured in the 35th annual San Francisco Jewish Film Festival focuses on the cinematic propaganda machine created by the United States Office of War Information. The agency’s efforts aimed at domestic audiences were obviously intended to support the war effort. What most people don’t know is that the OWI’s newsreels were produced under the leadership of screenwriter Robert Riskin (won an Oscar in 1935 for It Happened One Night) and was a frequent collaborator with director Frank Capra. Riskin was also married to Fay Wray (the star of 1933’s King Kong). Without a doubt, the favorite OWI film shown around the world was 1943’s THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A JEEP. Narrated by John Lithgow, Peter Miller’s documentary, PROJECTIONS OF AMERICA, pays tribute to the work of Riskin and the OWI’s secret film unit.
48 Hills: (San Francisco): If you are a fan of Frank Capra’s greatest films then you unknowingly are a fan of the Oscar winning screenwriter, Robert Riskin. The dynamic duo of Capra and Riskin swept all the main categories at the Oscars in 1935 for It Happened One Night (1934), a feat only two other films in history have done, and continued to churn out some of the most important “All-American” films of the Depression including Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) and You Can’t Take It With You (1938) followed by lesser known masterpieces: Meet John Doe(1941), Lady for a Day (1933) and American Madness (1932). Understandably, both were called on to help “the good fight” of WWII (as were other giants at the time like John Ford and Orson Welles). While many people have heard of Frank Capra’s flag-waving Why We Fight propaganda films, made to counterbalance Adolph Hitler’s movies like Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will (1935), very few Americans have ever heard of Robert Riskin’s decidedly different approach to pro-American sentiments. Talk about a screening not to miss!
Idee: Antje Boehmert, Christian Popp
Kamera: Antonio Rossi
Ton: Rodolphe Begard, Dan Mazur, Andreas Schlueter, Andy Turret
Schnitt: Amy Linton
Sound Designer: Brit Warner
Music: Eike Hosenfeld, Moritz Denis, Tim Stanzel
Archival Research: Elisabeth M. Hartjens, Michelle Gordon, David Stumpp
Senior Adviser and Story Consultant: Ian Scott
Historical Adviser: Marja Roholl
Produzenten: Antje Boehmert, Peter Miller, Christian Popp
Redaktion ZDF: Martin Pieper, Türkân Schirmer
Eine Produktion von DOCDAYS Productions in Koproduktion mit Willow Pond Films, ZDF in Zusammenarbeit mit ARTE. Gefördert von Creative Europe | Media. Weltvertrieb PBS International.
Länge: 52 min
Produktionsjahr: 2015
Ihre Filme verbreiteten keinerlei Ressentiments, sondern erzählten schlicht vom „American way of life“. PROJECTIONS OF AMERICA rekonstruiert die Entstehung dieser Filme, ihre Wahrnehmung und wie sie unter die Leute gebracht wurden. Der Film erzählt die dramatische Geschichte einer Gruppe von Visionären im Office of War Information und die ihres charismatischen Chefs: dem Oskar-Preisträger Robert Riskin.
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Idee: Antje Boehmert, Christian Popp
Kamera: Antonio Rossi
Ton: Rodolphe Begard, Dan Mazur, Andreas Schlueter, Andy Turret
Schnitt: Amy Linton
Produzenten: Antje Boehmert, Peter Miller, Christian Popp
Redaktion ZDF: Martin Pieper, Türkân Schirmer
Eine Produktion von DOCDAYS Productions in Koproduktion mit Willow Pond Films, ZDF in Zusammenarbeit mit ARTE. Gefördert von Creative Europe | Media. Weltvertrieb PBS International.
Länge: 52 min
Produktionsjahr: 2015