D.A. Pennebaker

“You don't necessarily need a script or actors to tell a compelling tale. Finding a person at a key moment in his life and rendering the truth as you see it – that’s the truest form of drama.” A pioneer in documentary filmmaking, D.A. Pennebaker actually came from an engineering background, with a degree in mechanical engineering from Yale. After being inspired by Francis Thompson’s film NYNY, Pennebaker turned to filmmaking. In 1959, Pennebaker joined Robert Leacock, Albert Maysles, Terry Filgate, and Robert Drew at Drew Associates to produce the highly acclaimed and revolutionary Living Camera series of documentaries. Together they developed one of the first fully portable 16mm synchronized camera and sound recording systems, making possible their revolutionary cinema verite movement, where filmmakers are able to capture events on the fly. In 1964, Pennebaker and Leacock formed their own company, Leacock Pennebaker, Inc. and in the spring of 1965, Albert Grossman, Bob Dylan’s manager, approached them with the idea of filming the singer’s forthcoming tour of England. The result was DON’T LOOK BACK. Released in 1967, it broke all box office records for theatrical documentaries. Many classic films followed, including MONTEREY POP, a record of the famous 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival, and ORIGINAL CAST COMPANY ALBUM, a film that captured the all night recording session of Stephen Sondheim’s Tony award winning musical, Company. Some of Pennebaker’s more recent projects include producing Hegedus’ Sundance nominee STARTUP.COM, co-directing DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAIN, a celebration of bluegrass music, with Hegedus and Nick Doob, and directing ONLY THE STRONG SURVIVE, about the legendary performers of Rhythm and Blues music featuring Sam Moore and Isaac Hayes.
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