Samuel D. Pollard | |
---|---|
Born | Harlem, New York, U.S. |
Alma mater | Baruch College (BA) |
Occupation | Filmmaker |
Awards | Peabody Award (2020) |
Samuel D. Pollard is an American film director, editor, producer, and screenwriter. His films have garnered numerous awards such as Peabodys, Emmys, and an Academy Award nomination. In 2020, the International Documentary Association gave him a career achievement award. Spike Lee, whose films Pollard has edited and produced, described him as being "a master filmmaker." Henry Louis Gates Jr. characterizes Pollard's work in this way: "When I think about his documentaries, they add up to a corpus — a way of telling African-American history in its various dimensions." [1]
Born in Harlem, New York, [2] Samuel D. Pollard began his career in 1972 as an editor for Victor Kanefsky, after having taken courses in a workshop organized by WNET. [3] He obtained a BA degree from Baruch College in 1973. Early in his career, he assisted George Bowers, the editor of A League of Their Own , The Good Son and The Stepfather . St. Clair Bourne was also a mentor. [4]
In 1998, Pollard received an Academy Award nomination for 4 Little Girls with Spike Lee. In 2010, Pollard (with Geeta Gandbhir and Arielle Amsalem) received an Emmy Award (Outstanding Picture Editing for Nonfiction Programming) for the film By the People: The Election of Barack Obama . In 2020, the International Documentary Association gave Pollard its first Career Achievement Award. [5]
MLK/FBI was named best documentary at the 2020 San Diego International Film Festival. [6]
In 2021, Film at Lincoln Center put together "Tribute to Sam Pollard", featuring several of his documentaries, calling him one of "cinema’s most dedicated chroniclers of the Black experience in America." [7] [8]
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary life, urban crime and poverty, and other political issues. Lee has won numerous accolades for his work, including an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, a BAFTA Award, and two Peabody Awards. He has also been honored with an Honorary BAFTA Award in 2002, an Honorary César in 2003, and the Academy Honorary Award in 2015.
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