“It seemed to me that [Robert Flaherty’s] name and spirit can best be perpetuated — can only be perpetuated as he would wish it — by an institution whose prime purpose is to help new talent to explore further and further into the possibilities of a medium so immense and so unknown.”
Flaherty Film Seminar
Our Seminar began in 1954-before the era of film schools-when Robert Flaherty’s widow, Frances Hubbard Flaherty, convened a group of filmmakers, critics, curators, musicians, and other film enthusiasts at the Flaherty farm in Vermont. For nearly seven decades the Flaherty Seminar has been firmly established as a one-of-a-kind institution that seeks to encourage filmmakers and other artists to explore the potential of the moving image.
Flaherty NYC
Since 2008, emerging curators have presented their ideas and work in New York City. Each season of Flaherty NYC relates to current trends in non-fiction cinema. Like the Seminar, the Flaherty employs a different programmer each year to create a theme and focus for the series. An in-depth discussion always follows with the filmmaker.
Flaherty Archives
A great archive helps to reveal something about the present. The Flaherty created an opportunity for individuals to gather and explore with film. The Flaherty Seminar archives offer a unique opportunity to reengage with perennial ideas of form, representation, and innovation that confront all who engage with the cinematic arts.
Support Flaherty
With your support, we will continue to bring filmmakers and audiences of all levels together. All contributions, whether large or small, help ensure the excellence of Flaherty programs for many years to come. Every donation makes it easier for us to support the artists in their art and to inspire others to create.
Our programs are made possible through the generous support of individual donors and our major funders.
