Man of Aran. 1934. Great Britain. Directed by Robert Flaherty
These notes accompany the Robert Flaherty and John Grierson Program on October 27, 28, and 29 in Theater 3.
Robert Flaherty (1884–1951) is credited with being the father of the documentary. There had, of course, been “actuality” films from the very beginning of cinema; the Lumiere brothers sent film crews around the world to bring the wonders of the planet to audiences long before jets made it possible for large numbers of people to travel to exotic or remote locales.