If cinéma vérité can be said to be invented, then Robert Drew ought to be credited with its inception. More properly, Drew along with the Maysles brothers, D.A. Pennebaker, and Richard Leacock are the Mount Rushmore of the early cinéma vérité movement. Some of the best of their collaborative work can been seen in Primary, for which these filmmakers all served as cameramen. Filmed during the 1960 Democratic convention, the finished film captures the sheen of the emergent JFK glow and the cagey interplay between Kennedy and his future veep, Lyndon Johnson. It’s fascinating stuff and Drew’s work left such a strong impression on fellow news reporters that ABC commissioned him to film the drama of John Kennedy’s funeral. The result, “Faces of November,” never aired on TV, thus this Austin screening is a truly rare event. (Robert Drew will be present following the screening for a Q&A. See this week’s Screens section for an interview with Drew.) The Texas Documentary Tour is co-sponsored by the Austin Film Society, the UT Department of RTF, The Austin Chronicle, KLRU-TV, and SXSW Film.
This article appears in February 9 • 2001.
