TCF Ep. 250 - Thomas Allen Harris

The Candid Frame: Conversations on Photography

Ibarionex R. Perello

Arts, Visual Arts

4.8 • 768 Ratings

🗓️ 22 September 2014

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Thomas Allen Harris, an award-winning Director, is the President of Chimpanzee Productions, a company dedicated to producing unique audio-visual experiences including feature length films, performances and multimedia productions. Chimpanzee’s innovative and acclaimed films - Through A Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People (2014), Twelve Disciples of Nelson Mandela (2005), E Minha Cara/That’s My Face (2001), VINTAGE – Families of Value (1995), - have received critical acclaim at international film festivals including Sundance, Berlin, Toronto, Frameline, FESPACO, Outfest, and Sithengi/Cape Town and have been broadcast on PBS, the Sundance Channel, ARTE, as well as CBC, Swedish broadcasting Network and New Zealand Television. Reviews of Harris’ work have appeared in The New York Times, Time Magazine, Jay Z’s Life and Times, Variety The Advocate, among others. Harris' performance-based videos have been featured at prestigious museums including: the MoMA, Whitney Museum of American Art’s Biennial, Corcoran Gallery, Reina Sophia, the Long Beach Museum of Art and London Institute of the Arts. A graduate of Harvard College, Harris began his career producing for public television, where he was nominated for two Emmy Awards. Since then, he has received numerous awards including an Africa Movie Academy Award, Fund for Santa Barbara Social Justice Award, Tribeca All Access Nelson Mandela Award, United States Artist Award, Guggenheim Fellowship, Rockefeller Fellowship, as well as CPB/PBS and Sundance Directors Fellowships. Harris has taught and lectured widely on film and multimedia and has served on a number of juries, including: Tribeca Film Festival, Independent Spirit Awards, POV American Documentary, and Full Frame. In 2009 Harris launched Digital Diaspora Family Reunion, an innovative transmedia project that combines film, photography, social media and oral histories in a live touring event. Digital Diaspora has held 18 Roadshows in 9-cities, with over 800 participants, 3,000 live audience participants and received over 40,000 “Likes” and in excess of 10 million media impressions. Resources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odgHrU1T9a8 http://ibarionex.net/thecandidframe info@thecandidframe.com

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, this is Ivadi NX and welcome to The Candid Frame.
0:14.0	This episode of The Candid Frame is brought to you by Squarespace,
0:17.0	the all-in-one platform that makes it fast and easy to create your own professional website or online portfolio.
0:24.3	For a free trial and 10% off, go to Squarespace.com and use the offer code, Candid Frame.
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0:45.0	Linda.com is there to help you learn creative, software, and business skills to achieve your personal and professional goals.
0:52.0	To take advantage of their seven-day free trial, visit linda.com
0:56.1	forward slash the candid frame. That's L-Y-N-D-A forward slash the candid frame.
1:07.5	I have an affinity for any documentary that focuses on photographers and photography.
1:13.3	I watched them all.
1:14.7	And when I heard about this new film, through a lens darkly, black photographers, and the emergence of a people,
1:20.6	I knew that I wanted to sit down with its director, Thomas Allen Harris.
1:25.0	The film explores the history of African Americans in photography from both a historical
1:29.7	and a personal point of view, touching on ideas and concepts that are as true today as
1:35.9	they were 100 years ago.
1:37.8	We began our conversation by talking about the role of photography in the director's
1:42.4	own life.
1:47.9	Thank you. about the role of photography in the director's own life. In terms of my family, my grandfather was a photographer.
1:53.1	He was not professional photographer, but he took pictures of his family and of his community.
1:58.1	He moved to New York from New York City, actually Harlem in the 20s,
2:03.1	from Albany, New York. And he started taking pictures then. And I took pictures of his parents
2:08.8	and his life in Harlem during the Harlem Renaissance. And then as his family grew, he could get
	...

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