Jerry Pantzer Award Winning Films

Jerry Pantzer has to his credit over 250 films in a broad range of visual styles and subjects. From hand held documentaries to dramatic films, as well as dance and performance videos, his work has won repeated Academy Award and Emmy awards, as well as critical acclaim from the New York Times for his “exquisite” imagery (BOOK OF DAYS).

AWARD WINNING FILMS

THE TEN YEAR LUNCH: THE WIT AND LEGEND OF THE ALGONQUIN ROUND TABLE - ACADEMY AWARD WINNER      Best Feature Length Documentary. The story of the continuing lunch of the celebrated literary figures of  the 1920’s and 1930’s at the Algonquin Hotel in New York.  Aviva Slesin,   Producer / Director.  56 min.

MASTERS OF DISASTER - ACADEMY AWARD WINNER,  Short Documentary. Eight street wise kids from   broken homes work to become national chess champions.  Sonia Friedman,   Producer / Director. 28 min.

ISAAC IN  AMERICA - ACADEMY AWARD WINNER, Feature Length Documentary.  A   charming portrait of the great writer and Nobel Laureat,   Isaac Bashevis Singer.  PBS, AMERICAN  MASTERS,  a NY Film Festival selection.  Amram  Nowak, Producer / Director. 60 min.

ARCTIC WINDOW - EMMY AWARD WINNER, for Cinematography. Arctic Sea birds are  relocated to a special habitat at  the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago,  Dugan Rosalini,  Producer / Director   56 min.

DOCUMENTARIES

ALFRED STIEGLITZ: THE ELOQUENT EYE  - A  documentary about the life of the great American photographer and his influence on Modern Art.  AMERICAN  MASTERS, PBS. Perry Miller Adato,  Writer / Director.   87 min.

THE SPIRIT OF CARNAUBA– Industrialist Samuel C. Johnson, recreates his father’s 1934 amphibious air expedition which explored northeastern Brazil and the Amazon.  Filmed in 35 mm  B&W , color. Includes  major  helecopter aerials.       Dugan Rosalini,   Producer / director.  For S.C. Johnson Wax.  56 min.

AND THOU SHALT HONOR - A  touching PBS special about the role of caregivers, both professional as well as family members and their devoted help to those in need. Harry Wiland - Dale Bell,  Producer / Directors   112 min.

HILLWOOD  MUSEUM  AND  GARDENS – A  film about the priceless Russian art collection of Marjorie Merriweather Post and her estate turned museum in Washington,  Christopher Noey, Producer / Director  Super 16 to HD   14 Min.

THEY CAME FOR GOOD – A PBS series on the history of the Jews in America. It documents how they adapted to our young country, and their contributions to our society.  Amram Nowak, Producer / Director.  4 hrs.

CREATING SHANGRI LA; THE DORIS DUKE COLLECTION OF ISLAMIC ART - A visual guide to the estate turned museum of Islamic  Art in Hawaii.  Christopher Noey,  Producer / Director.  Digibeta. 16: 9   12 min.

ANCIENT BESTIARY & WHITE FLAG (JASPER JOHNS) – The story of recently acquired priceless art by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the curators who made it happen.  Christopher Noey, Producer / Director.

BREATH - A film poem based on the living installation performance by dance artists Eiko & Koma. Performed at  the Whitney Museum of American Art. The N.Y.. Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dance Collection.  18 Min.                Directed, photographed and edited. 

LIBERO CANTO: Voice is Breath  - The world renowned Hungarian voice coach Edvin Szamosi, and his unorthodox," primal"  techniques to help professional singers be free.  Andrea Simon, Producer / Director   58 min.                                   

ART OF INDONESIA; TALES FROM THE SHADOW WORLD - The various art forms of Bali and Java, and their ancient origins in time and place. Co-produced by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. N.Y.   Andrea Simon,  Producer / Director.  28 min.

GREAT TALES IN  ASIAN  ART – Classical  sagas of the east, such as The Ramayana and Tales of Genji, are told through painting, masked dance drama and in other forms of the performing arts. Filmed in Korea, Indonesia, China and India.    Alvin H..Perlmutter Productions for PBS   Perry Miller Adato, Producer / Director, 87 min.

EDUCATION OF THE GIRL CHILD - A  poignant documentary about the re-staging of composer / choreographer Meredith Monk’s epic and touching  theatrical work. The original cast of women recreate a work they performed 20 years earlier.                       Amy Schatz, Producer.  A  work in progress.   Directed and Photographed.  56 Min.                                                  

SON  MU GA  -  Korean " Zen Dance"  Performance at the Public Theater, New York.  Sun Ock Lee,  Choreographer . Produced for the N.Y. Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dance Collection.  Directed and Photographed. 48 min.

TENNESSE WILLIAMS: ORPHEUS OF THE AMERICAN STAGE - A  penetrating documentary about the life of this great American playwright.  AMERICAN  MASTERS, PBS.  Tatge / Lasseur   Productions. Merrill Brockway, Director. 85 min. 

SEA TRIALS - Documentary about the maritime industry and the need for a stronger naval fleet to support it. Includes major helicopter aerials. Dugan Rosalini   Producer / Director.  28 min.

TALK TO ME: AMERICANS IN CONVERSATION  - A  dialogue about ethnic plurality and the changing  “American identity.”    For PBS.   Andrea Simon,  Producer / Director.  56 min. 

RALPH  BUNCHE : AN  AMERICAN  ODYSSEY - A  film  on the life of Ralph Bunche, his influential  work at the United Nations and quest for peace in the Mideast.   AMERICAN EXPERIENCE,  PBS.  William Greaves, Director.  2 hrs..

AN IMAGINARY EAST - A film about the art movement of the late 19th Century through the 1920’s, known as “Orientalism”. The  Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Gerry Dodds,   Producer / Director.  28 min.

IDA  B. WELLS: A PASSION FOR JUSTICE - An inspiring account of the life of this 19th century journalist who fought against the horrors of racism  toward African Americans.  AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, PBS , William Greaves, Diir. 56 Min.

THE RUSSIANS ARE HERE - A  documentary  about the problems facing  new Russian immigrants in the United States. FRONTLINE - WGBH   Boston.  Ofra Bikel,   Producer / Director. 56 min.

DRAMATIC FILMS

BOOK OF DAYS - This striking film explores the  prophetic visions of a young girl in medieval France. A  New York Film Festival selection. Critically  acclaimed  by the New York Times and aired on PBS  ALIVE FROM OFF CENTER.    Tatge / Lasseur Productions   Meredith Monk, Director   35 mm B&W, color   87 min.

ELLIS ISLAND - A  poetic, surreal evocation of the immigrant experience in the early 20th century. Regarded as a  classic American independent film.  PBS  ALIVE FROM OFF CENTER,  Meredith Monk, Director  35mm  B&W , color  28 min.

TUSKS - An action feature about elephant poaching, human greed and violence.  Filmed on location in Zimbabwe. Tara Moore, Writer / Director   35 mm  110 min.

THE CAFETERIA - A  television drama, based on the haunting short story by Isaac Bashevis Singer.  PBS, THE AMERICAN PLAYHOUSE - Amram Nowak, Producer / Director  

Member: International Cinematographers Guild, Director of Photography