Deborah Shaffer

Deborah Shaffer is an American documentary filmmaker. She began making social issue documentaries as a member of the Newsreel collective the 1970s.[1] She co-founded Pandora Films, one of the first woman’s film companies, which produced several shorts. Her first feature documentary, The Wobblies,[2] premiered at the New York Film Festival in 1979. During the 1980s Shaffer focused on human rights in Central America and Latin America, directing many films including Witness to War: Dr. Charlie Clements which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject) at the 58th Academy Awards in 1985. The producer of Witness to War, David Goodman was the recipient of the Academy Award. Goodman and Shaffer accepted the award together and in her acceptance speech Shaffer dedicated the film to the memory of Archbishop Oscar Romero as the ceremony was held on the sixth anniversary of his death.[3] Shaffer also directed Fire from the Mountain based on the book by Omar Cabezas[4] and Dance of Hope about the Pinochet regime in Chile[5][6] which both played at the Sundance Film Festival. Shaffer directed one of the first post-September 11 films, From the Ashes: 10 Artists followed by From the Ashes: Epilogue, which premiered at the Sundance andTribeca Film Festivals.[7] Shaffer is also the Executive Producer of the Academy Award-nominated short Asylum and the HBO documentary Very Semi-Serious and has directed numerous acclaimed public television programs on women and the arts. She directed and produced To Be Heard,[8] which won awards at DOC NYC, the San Diego Latino Festival, and the Sarasota Film Festival and aired nationwide on PBS.[9] Her most recent film is Queen of Hearts: Audrey Flack, about the artist Audrey Flack, which screened at Film Columbia[10] and DOC NYC[11] in fall 2019. She has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship,[12] an Academy Award,[13] and an Emmy award.[14]

References
  1. Deborah Shaffer. "Deborah Shaffer documentary footage of Chile, El Salvador and Nicaragua". legacy.lib.utexas.edu. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  2. Maslin, Janet. "The Wobblies, NYTimes review".
  3. "David Goodman acceptance speech". Academy Award Speeches Database. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  4. Grant H. Kester (1998). Art, Activism, and Oppositionality: Essays from Afterimage. Duke University Press. p. 72. ISBN 0-8223-2095-9.
  5. Erik (Professor Emeritus of Dramatic Arts Barnouw, Professor Emeritus of Dramatic Arts Columbia University); Erik Barnouw; Formerly Dean of the School of Arts and Founder of the Film Division Erik Barnouw (1993). Documentary: A History of the Non-fiction Film. Oxford University Press. p. 304. ISBN 978-0-19-507898-5.
  6. "Dance of Hope, NYTimes Review".
  7. Pogrebin, Robin. "TriBeCa Festival Celebrates Film And Resilience".
  8. Brunick, Paul (2011-10-11). "'To Be Heard' Gives 3 Teenagers a Voice — Review". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  9. "To Be Heard PBS premiere".
  10. "FilmColumbia: 20th anniversary festival a treasure trove of films from all over the world |". theberkshireedge.com. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  11. "Christopher Llewellyn Reed's Top 10 Docs from DOC NYC 2019". Film Festival Today. 2019-11-15. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  12. "John Simon Guggenheim Foundation | Deborah Shaffer". Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  13. Witness to War Wins Documentary Short Subject: 1986 Oscars, retrieved 2019-09-17
  14. "National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Announces Winners at the 37th Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards" (PDF) (Press release). National Academy of Arts and Sciences. 21 September 2016.
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