''Luther Metke at 94'' is a 1979 American

short Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known as ...

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

directed by

Jorge Preloran Jorge Ricardo Preloran (May 28, 1933 – March 28, 2009) was an Argentine filmmaker and a pioneer in ethnobiographic film making. Life and career Preloran was born in Buenos Aires to an Argentine father and an Irish American mother. He ma ...

and Steve Raymen at the Ethnographic Film Program,

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. It 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 Short in 1980. The film presents a portrait of Luther Metke, a veteran of the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

. Even in his advanced age, Metke continues his work of building

log cabins Log most often refers to: * Trunk (botany), the stem and main wooden axis of a tree, called logs when cut ** Logging, cutting down trees for logs ** Firewood, logs used for fuel ** Lumber or timber, converted from wood logs * Logarithm, in mathem ...

by hand in the Cascade Mountains of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. The film documents many aspects of log cabin building as Metke works on a hexagonal cabin and teaches his methods to a young couple. Additional footage shows Metke's daily life, accompanied by a voice over of his recollections, commentary on log cabin construction, and musings on life. Metke also shares some of his poetry on camera and through voice over.

References

External links

* 1979 films 1979 documentary films 1979 short films Argentine documentary films 1970s short documentary films Documentary films about poets Documentary films about old age 1970s English-language films 1970s Argentine films {{1970s-documentary-film-stub