Buirski, Pennebaker To Be Celebrated at Full Frame

The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival will celebrate filmmakers Nancy Buirski and D. A. Pennebaker with the 2024 Full Frame Tribute.

Full Frame will screen a selection of Buirski’s and Pennebaker’s films at the four-day festival. An event where friends, colleagues, and fellow filmmakers remember Buirski’s visionary artistry will take place in Fletcher Hall. The festival will also a feature a panel conversation around Pennebaker’s legacy as a pioneer of cinéma vérité and a mentor to numerous filmmakers.

“Remembering Nancy and Penny, I cannot think of two people who are more responsible for shaping Full Frame as a cultural institution,” said co-festival director and artistic director Sadie Tillery. “Over the years, they shared their films, their passion for the craft of filmmaking, their knowledge of the documentary form, and their profound desire to hold space for meaningful dialogue and connection. Full Frame would not be Full Frame without them, and it means the world to me to highlight their invaluable contributions this year.”

Nancy Buirski founded Full Frame as the DoubleTake Documentary Film Festival in 1998. After a decade leading the festival, she turned to filmmaking, directing a remarkable canon of documentary films including, The Loving Story, By Sidney Lumet, and Desperate Souls, Dark City, and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy.

Her works have premiered at prestigious festivals, with notable awards and nominations, including two Critics Choice Awards. Buirski’s first film The Loving Story received Peabody and Emmy Awards, and was shortlisted for an Oscar. She was a Special Advisor to the Academy Award-winning documentary Summer of Soul. Prior to founding Full Frame, Buirski was the Foreign Picture Editor at the New York Times and an Editor at Magnum Photo.

“There is no more fitting place to honor the remarkable legacy of our cherished friend and collaborator, Nancy Buirski,” said Buirski’s longtime collaborator and producer Susan Margolin. “Nancy dedicated years of her life to the festival and its core values and mission. She played a key role in advancing the careers of many talented filmmakers who went on to have storied careers. As an artist and filmmaker, she had a profound influence on so many. We deeply appreciate the festival for recognizing her magnificent contributions to the field in such a special manner, and for presenting the opportunity for us all to come together, from near and far, to celebrate her life and her brilliant body of work.”

Groundbreaking filmmaker and longtime Full Frame advisory board member, D. A. Pennebaker frequently attended the festival. His presence, and approachability, was a Full Frame mainstay.

Pennebaker revolutionized the industry in the early sixties with a portable 16mm synchronized camera and sound system. His debut, the 1953 short Daybreak Express, led to his involvement with Drew Associates, contributing to the acclaimed “Living Camera” series. In 1967, he released the seminal documentary Dont Look Back, capturing Bob Dylan’s acoustic tour. Pennebaker continued to shape the music documentary genre with Monterey Pop, Keep On Rockin’, and Sweet Toronto. He often collaborated with his wife, filmmaker Chris Hegedus. Together they co-directed notable films, including the Academy Award nominated feature The War Room. Their diverse works include Moon Over Broadway, Depeche Mode 101, and Kings of Pastry. He received numerous accolades throughout his career, including a Lifetime Achievement Academy Award.

“I am thrilled that Full Frame is back and grateful that the festival is honoring both my dear friend Nancy Buirski and my partner D. A. Pennebaker,” said Chris Hegedus. “It was Nancy’s passion for documentaries that drew us to Full Frame nearly every year to screen our films and to be inspired by others. We are lucky to have Nancy and Penny’s wonderful films to remember them by.”

Specific screening times and venues will be announced with the release of the full schedule later this month. The 26th annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival runs April 4–7, 2024. Passes and ticket packages are now on sale at www.fullframefest.org/attend/passes-tickets/.