Connie Field is an American film director known for her work in

documentaries A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in term ...

. Her works include ''

The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter ''The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter'' is a 1980 documentary film and the first movie made by Connie Field about the American women who went to work during World War II to do "men's jobs." In 1996, it was selected for preservation in the U ...

'' (1980), '' Forever Activists'' (1990), ''

Freedom on My Mind ''Freedom on My Mind'' is a 1994 feature documentary film that tells the story of the Mississippi voter registration movement of 1961 to 1964, which was characterized by violence against the people involved, including multiple instances of murde ...

'' (1994) and '' Have You Heard from Johannesburg'' (2010). Field's works have received numerous awards and nominations. Among other recognitions, ''Freedom on My Mind'' won the

Grand Jury Prize A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...

for Best Documentary at the 1994

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

, and was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Documentary Feature at the 67th Academy Awards; ''Have You Heard from Johannesburg'' won the

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking at the

64th Primetime Emmy Awards The 64th Primetime Emmy Awards, honoring the best in prime time television programming from June 1, 2011 until May 31, 2012, were held on Sunday, September 23, 2012 at the Nokia Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, California. ABC televised the cere ...

Early life

Field was born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in Washington, D.C. and was a full-time organizer for social causes in the late 1960s and 1970s in Boston and New York City. She was a journalist for ''The Old Mole'', a radical

New Left The New Left was a broad political movement mainly in the 1960s and 1970s consisting of activists in the Western world who campaigned for a broad range of social issues such as civil and political rights, environmentalism, feminism, gay rights, g ...

-oriented underground newspaper and a member of Boston Newsreel, one of a group of independent filmmaking and distribution organizations around the country, which made over 60 documentaries in conjunction with grass-roots organizers to serve as catalysts for social change. Upon moving to New York City, she worked for The People's Coalition for Peace and Justice and the Indochina Peace Campaign, both national organizations working for a just end to the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. During this time, she discovered a history never taught her generation of the many struggles for social equality achieved by previous generations. Both the importance of this discovery and her commitment to social justice would shape the rest of her life and work.

Film career

Field's first film, ''

'', told the story of American women who went to work during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

to do "men's jobs." It has been selected by the United States

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception i ...

of the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

for preservation as a significant component of America's film heritage. She was co-director of the documentary '' Forever Activists'' (1990), an Oscar-nominated film produced and directed by Judy Montell about the lifelong activism of seven members of the

Abraham Lincoln Brigade The Abraham Lincoln Brigade ( es, Brigada Abraham Lincoln), officially the XV International Brigade (''XV Brigada Internacional''), was a mixed brigade that fought for the Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War as a part of the Internationa ...

, the American contingent who fought on the Loyalist side in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

. ''

'' (1994) premiered at the

and is a history of the Mississippi Voter Registration Project during the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

which culminated in

Freedom Summer Freedom Summer, also known as the Freedom Summer Project or the Mississippi Summer Project, was a volunteer campaign in the United States launched in June 1964 to attempt to register as many African-American voters as possible in Mississippi. ...

in 1964. It was nominated for an

and won the

for Best Documentary at the

. ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' called it "a landmark documentary that chronicles the most tumultuous and significant years in the history of the civil rights movement. A must see". while ''

The Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' gave similar praise. It was also broadcast on PBS's ''

American Experience ''American Experience'' is a television program airing on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. The program airs documentaries, many of which have won awards, about important or interesting events and people in American his ...

''. '' Have You Heard from Johannesburg'' (2010) is a seven-film series covering the struggle of the global anti-apartheid movement to end

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. It has been called "a monumental chronicle not just of one nation and its hideous regime, but of the second half of the 20th century." The series won a

for its broadcast on PBS's ''

Independent Lens ''Independent Lens'' is a weekly television series airing on PBS featuring documentary films made by independent filmmakers. Past seasons of ''Independent Lens'' were hosted by Angela Bassett, Don Cheadle, Susan Sarandon, Edie Falco, Terrence Ho ...

'' in 2012, and was awarded Best Limited Series by the

International Documentary Association International Documentary Association (IDA), founded in 1982, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that promotes nonfiction filmmakers, and is dedicated to increasing public awareness for the documentary genre. Their major program areas are: Advocacy, Filmm ...

, and named Best Documentary of 2010 by ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'' and ''

Time Out New York ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 328 cities in 58 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition becam ...

''. Other work includes ''¡Salud!'' (2007), a documentary on Cuba's role in the struggle for global health equity and the complex realities confronting the movement to make healthcare everyone’s birthright.

Selected filmography

* ''

'' (1980) * '' Forever Activists: Stories from the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade'' (1990) * ''

'' (1994) * ''¡Salud!'' (2007) * '' Have You Heard from Johannesburg'' (2010) * ''Al Helm: Martin Luther King in Palestine'' (2013) * ''Oliver Tambo: Have You Heard from Johannesburg'' (2018) * ''The Whistleblower of My Lai'' (2018)

Awards and nominations

''The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter'' * Best Documentary nomination, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, 1981 * winner, Gold Hugo, Chicago International Film Festival, 1980 * winner, Golden Marazzo, Festival dei Popoli, 1980 * winner, Gold Award, Houston International Film Festival, 1980 * winner, CINE Golden Eagle, 1981 * winner, Golden Athena, Athens Festival * winner, Finalist Award, National Educational Film Festival, 1982 * winner, Blue Ribbon Award, American Film Festival, 1981 * winner, John Grierson Award, American Film Festival, Educational Film Library Association ''Freedom on My Mind'' * Best Documentary Feature nomination, The 67th Academy Awards, 1994 * winner, Documentary Feature Grand Jury Prize, Sundance Film Festival, 1994 * winner, Best of Northern California, National Educational Film Festival, 1994 * winner, Erik Barnouw Award, Organization of American Historians, 1995 * winner, John O’Connor Award, American Historical Association * winner, Bronze Award, WorldFest Houston, 1994 * winner, Distinguished Documentary Award, International Documentary Association, 1994 * winner, National Educational Association Award for Excellence in the Advancement of Learning through Broadcasting, 1996 * winner, CINE Golden Eagle, 1996 ''¡Salud!'' * winner, Audience Award, Pan African Film Festival, 2007 * winner, Henry Hampton Award for Excellence in Film & Media, Council on Foundations, 2008 * winner, Film Award, American Medical Students Association, 2007 ''Have You Heard from Johannesburg'' * winner, Primetime Emmy Award for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking, The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, 2012 * winner, Best Limited Series, International Documentary Association, 2010 * winner, Gold Hugo for Best Documentary Series, Chicago International Film Festival Hugo Television Awards, 2012 * Best Documentary Feature nomination, BFI London Film Festival, 2009 * winner, Best Documentary Feature, Vancouver International Film Festival, 2006 * winner, Best Documentary Feature, Pan African Film Festival, 2007 ''Al Helm: Martin Luther King in Palestine'' * winner, CrossCurrents Foundation Justice Matters Award, Washington DC International Film Festival, 2014 * winner, Audience Favorite – Active Cinema, Mill Valley Film Festival, 2013 * winner, CINE Golden Eagle, 2012

References

External links

*
Clarity Films

Clarity Docs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Field, Connie Living people Film directors from Washington, D.C. Year of birth missing (living people) American documentary filmmakers Sundance Film Festival award winners Jewish American artists 21st-century American Jews