Sam Green is an American

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

filmmaker. His most recent projects are “live documentaries” in which he narrates a film in-person while musicians perform a live soundtrack. His 2018 project ''A Thousand Thoughts'' features a live score by the

Kronos Quartet The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classical musi ...

, and his 2012 project ''The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller'' featured a live score by the band

Yo La Tengo Yo La Tengo (Spanish language, Spanish for "I've got it"; also abbreviated as YLT) is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan (guitars, piano, vocals), Georgia Hubley ...

. Green's 2004 film '' The Weather Underground'' was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

, included in the

Whitney Biennial The Whitney Biennial is a biennial exhibition of contemporary American art organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. The event began as an annual exhibition in 1932; the first biennial was held in 1973. It is considered ...

, and broadcast nationally on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

Early life

Green was raised in

East Lansing, Michigan East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County, although a small portion extends north into Clinton County. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 47,741. The city is located immediate ...

, and is a graduate of East Lansing High School. He earned his undergraduate degree from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, Ann Arbor. He received his master's degree in journalism from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, where he studied documentary with filmmaker

Marlon Riggs Marlon Troy Riggs (February 3, 1957 – April 5, 1994) was a Black gay filmmaker, educator, poet, and activist. He produced, wrote, and directed several documentary films, including '' Ethnic Notions'', '' Tongues Untied'', '' Color Adjustment'' ...

Career

One of Green's earliest films, ''The Rainbow Man/John 3:16'', focuses on the life of Rollen Stewart, who became famous during the 1970s by appearing at thousands of televised sporting events wearing a rainbow-colored wig. The film premiered at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival, where director of programming Trevor Groth described it as "a parable about alienation, the media, and the meaninglessness that often defines American life." Green received the

Creative Capital Creative Capital is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in New York City that supports artists across the United States through funding, counsel, gatherings, and career development services. Since its founding in 1999, Creative Capital has co ...

Moving Image Award in 2001. Green's feature-length documentary film '' The Weather Underground'' focused on the group of violent extremists of the same name, who during the late 1960s and '70s attempted to violently overthrow the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

government. The film premiered at the 2003

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

and was nominated for a 2003

Academy Award for Documentary Feature The Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film is an award for documentary films. In 1941, the first awards for feature-length documentaries were bestowed as Academy Honorary Award, Special Awards to ''Kukan'' and ''Target for Tonight''. The ...

category. The award winning film interweaves extensive archival material with modern-day interviews to explore the story of the Weather Underground. ''The New York Times'' film critic Elvis Mitchell called the documentary a "terrifically smart and solid piece of film-making." Sam Green's documentary ''Utopia in Four Movements'' (2010) also premiered at the

, in the category entitled "New Frontiers." In this "live" documentary, Green narrates the 75-minute film while a live band performs the score; the film examines various topics, including an American exile in Cuba, the world's largest shopping mall (located in China), the treatment of mass graves, and the history of the man-made language

Esperanto Esperanto (, ) is the world's most widely spoken Constructed language, constructed international auxiliary language. Created by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887 to be 'the International Language' (), it is intended to be a universal second language for ...

. Green’s 2012 live documentary, ''The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller,'' is a portrait of the theorist and designer

Buckminster Fuller Richard Buckminster Fuller (; July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983) was an American architect, systems theorist, writer, designer, inventor, philosopher, and futurist. He styled his name as R. Buckminster Fuller in his writings, publishing more t ...

and features a live score by the band

. The piece combines in-person narration and live music alongside projected film clips and photographs. It was commissioned by the

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is a modern art, modern and contemporary art museum and nonprofit organization located in San Francisco, California. SFMOMA was the first museum on the West Coast devoted solely to 20th-century art ...

and premiered at the San Francisco Film Festival in May 2012. Green’s 2014 live documentary, entitled '' The Measure of All Things,'' is based very loosely on the ''

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

''. The piece premiered at the 2014

and is screened with live scores by the chamber group yMusic and a trio made up of

Brendan Canty Brendan John Canty (born March 9, 1966) is an American musician, composer, producer and filmmaker, best known as the drummer for the band Fugazi (band), Fugazi. In 2007, ''Stylus Magazine'' ranked Canty at No. 29 on the list of "50 Greatest R ...

(

Fugazi Fugazi (; ) is an American post-hardcore band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1986. The band consists of guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally, and drummer Brendan Canty. They were noted for their style-transc ...

), T. Griffin, and Catherine McRae. Green's 2018 live documentary, ''A Thousand Thoughts'', chronicles the multi-decade career of the

. The piece premiered at the 2018

and won the San Francisco Film Festival audience award. The piece is screened with a live score performed by the Kronos Quartet. ''32 Sounds'', Green's most recent live documentary, is a collaboration with electronic musician JD Samson. The film, which premiered at the 2022

and played at

SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

2022, is described as a "meditation on the power of sound to bend time, cross borders, and profoundly shape our perception of the world around us". In a review for

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

, David Fear called ''32 Sounds'', 'the greatest documentary you've ever heard.' Writing for IndieWire, Eric Kohn says of ''32 Sounds'', 'the project’s long-term viability provides a valuable case study for how unconventional, smaller-scale non-fiction filmmaking can remain sustainable. Staying small and strange is a way to stay safe.'

Filmography

*''32 Sounds'' with JD Samson (2022) *''Annea Lockwood/a Film About Listening'' (2021) *''7 Sounds'' with JD Samson (2021) *''Don’t Call Me Gay Zelig'' with live music by JD Samson (2019) *''A Thousand Thoughts'' with the

(2018) * ''Julius Caesar was Buried in a Pet Cemetery'' (2018) * ''This is What the Future Looked Like'', co-directed with

Gary Hustwit Gary Hustwit is an American independent filmmaker and photographer. He is best known for his design documentaries, which examine the impact of trends in graphic design, typography, industrial design, architecture, and urban planning. He told '' ...

(2017) * ''Brent Green/Sam Green: Live Cinema'' (2016) * '' The Measure of All Things'', with the chamber music group yMusic and a trio made up of Brendan Canty (Fugazi), T. Griffin, and Catherine McRae (2014) *''A Cinematic Study of Fog in San Francisco,'' co-directed with Andy Black (2013) * ''Love Letter to the Fog'' (2013) *''The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller'', with the band

(2012) * '' The Universal Language'' (2011) * ''(Commissioned) Portrait of Las Vegas'' (2011) * ''Utopia in Four Movements'', co-directed with Dave Cerf (2010) * ''Utopia, Part 3: The World's Largest Shopping Mall'', co-directed with Carrie Lozano (2009) * ''Clear Glasses'' (2008) * ''Lot 63, Grave C'' (2006) * ''N-Judah 5:30'' (2004) * '' The Weather Underground'' (2003) * ''Pie Fight '69'', co-directed with Christian Bruno (2000) * ''The Fabulous Stains: Behind the Movie'', co-directed with Sarah Jacobson (1999) * ''The Rainbow Man/John 3:16'' (1997)

References

External links

Official websiteVimeoInterview with Believer MagazineInterview with IndiewireInterview with Extended PlayInterview with Houston Cinema Arts SocietyInterview with Pure NonfictionInterview with Film Comment
{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Sam Living people American documentary filmmakers University of Michigan alumni Year of birth missing (living people) East Lansing High School alumni