Award-nominated director and producer Sam Green returned to Boston University after a six-year interim on Friday for a presentation of six of his short documentaries at the College of Communication.
Green, nominated for an Academy Award in 2004 for his documentary feature “The Weather Underground,” showcased portions of his feature documentary as well as five of his more recent documentaries to an audience of about 50 students.
The first film, “Utopia, Part Three: The Largest Mall in the World,” explored an enormous Chinese mall, which has not only stores, but also roller coasters, games and other entertainment. Despite these attractions, the mall is completely empty.
Green said he felt that the film portrayed something humorous, rather than empty or depressing.
“Human folly can be good in a way, there’s something I like about it actually,” Green said. “It doesn’t depress me at all. I’m much more interested in efforts that sort of don’t end up where they’re supposed to end up.”
“Lot 63,” the third film shown, focused on the 1969 riot at the Altamont Rolling Stones concert, where concert attendee Meredith Hunter was stabbed to death in front of the stage.
Green said he wanted to focus on the background and life of Hunter, instead of the repercussions of the riot itself.
“I’m just a curious person, and I look into things out of curiosity. I tried to find out something about who Hunter was, and I couldn’t find anything at all except for where he was buried,” Green said.
Once at the burial site, Green said he found no headstone marking the grave.
“I was very moved and saddened, and I made the film as an expression of that,” he said.
The fourth film simply featured rolling film of a streetcar in San Francisco. Green said he used this footage to practice using and editing film.
“I would go sit on the step at 5:30 and watch that train go by and said to myself, ‘At least I’m not on that train,’” Green said.
“It was like a ship of misery going by, and I wanted to make a little poem about that.”
Green then screened a portion of “The Weather Underground,” which takes a humorous look at a pair of eyeglasses he received as a present from Mark Rudd, a member of the radical left political organization the director’s film takes it name from.
When not making films, Green said he teaches a documentary production class and a history of documentary class at the San Francisco Art Institute and the University of San Francisco.
His next film is a documentary about fog in San Francisco.
Gerald Peary, the curator of Cinematheque, said he was so impressed by a presentation Green gave at BU six years ago that he invited him back.
“[Green] is a filmmaker who is a really good bridge to students and young people because his documentaries are really accessible,” Peary said.
COM sophomores Amanda Friedman and Colleen Martorano said they were interested in hearing Green speak because of his success as a documentary filmmaker.
“It’s a good opportunity to see successful filmmakers who are involved in the industry,” Friedman said.
“I’m looking to go down the screenwriting path, so this is a really cool opportunity,” Martorano added.
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