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BIOGRAPHER HARRIET REISEN AND FILMMAKER NANCY PORTER, CREATORS OF THE 2009 DOCUMENTARY “LOUISA MAY ALCOTT” (PBS), TO DISCUSS HISTORICAL FILMMAKING

NYS Writers Institute,October 14 and 15, 2010
October 14, (Thursday)
7:30 p.m. Discussion, film clips amnd reading | Recital Hall, Performing Arts Center

October 15, (Friday)
9 a.m. - 12 p.m. Seminar | Standish Room, Science Library

CALENDAR LISTING
Harriet Reisen, author of the acclaimed biography, “Louisa May Alcott” (2009), and Nancy Porter, director of a PBS documentary based on Reisen’s book, will offer two public presentations. On Thursday, October 14, at 7:30 p.m. in the Recital Hall, Performing Arts Center, on the University at Albany’s uptown campus, they will present, “Louisa May Alcott: In Print and on Screen,” a program of film clips, commentary and discussion. On Friday, October 15, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Standish Room, Science Library on the uptown campus, they will offer a seminar about shaping history for general audiences. Sponsored by UAlbany’s Documentary Studies Program, History Department, M. E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archirves, and the New York State Writers Institute, the events are free and open to the public.

PROFILE
On Thursday, October 14, spend an evening with Harriet Reisen and Nancy Porter, creators of LOUISA MAY ALCOTT: THE WOMAN BEHIND LITTLE WOMEN (2009) — a documentary, directed by Porter for PBS’s American Masters, and a biography, written by Reisen. They will present clips and readings to illustrate their approach to bringing Alcott’s story to life, on the page and on screen. This event is made possible by a grant from the New York Council for the Humanities.

Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) grew up in grueling poverty, worked at the lowliest jobs open to women, was a nurse in the Civil War, led a secret literary life as a writer of pulp fiction, and became a multimillionaire as the author of “moral pap for the young.”   She published more than 30 books and is credited with pioneering the creation of realistic fiction for children.

On Friday, October 15, join Harriet Reisen and Nancy Porter, producers of LOUISA MAY ALCOTT: THE WOMAN BEHIND LITTLE WOMEN (2009), for an informal seminar on what’s involved in shaping history for general audiences.

Harriet Reisen’s biography, “Louisa May Alcott” was named a top ten book of 2009 by the “Wall Street Journal,” “Booklist,” and “BookPage,” and was a finalist for the Massachusetts Book Award. Her diverse credits include scripting dramatic and documentary films for PBS and HBO, co-producing NPR’s series Blacklisted, contributing radio commentary to Morning Edition and Marketplace, and publishing in “Travel and Leisure,” “Tin House,” and “The Philadelphia Inquirer.”

Nancy Porter has produced and directed numerous documentaries and has won many awards, including a national Emmy, an American Film Festival Blue Ribbon, and three Cine Gold Eagle Awards. Her films include “Typhoid Mary: The Most Dangerous Woman in America” (1993), and “Secrets of the Dead Sea Scrolls” (2007), both for Nova, and “Amelia Earhart” (1993), “The Wright Stuff” (1996), “Richard Byrd: Alone on the Ice” (1999), and “Houdini” (2000), for American Experience.

Both events are presented by the UAlbany’s Documentary Studies Program and Department of History in conjunction with the New York State Writers Institute and the M. E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, with support from University Auxiliary Services and the New York State Archives Partnership Trust.

For additional information, contact the Writers Institute at 518-442-5620 or online at https://www.albany.edu/writers-inst.