Director Adam Isenberg Receives Margaret Mead Filmmaker Award

In addition to Isenberg, Giommi, and Miyarrka Media, the 2012 nominees for the Margaret Mead Filmmaker Award included Valérie Berteau and Philippe Witjes for Himself He Cooks; Ram Devineni and Cano Rojas for The Human Tower; Zoé Chantre for Keep Me Upright (Tiens moi droite); Pietra Brettkelly for Maori Boy Genius; Patrick Morell for Nagaland: The Last of the Headhunters; Sadia Shepard and Samina Quraeshi for The Other Half of Tomorrow; and Stefan Wittekamp and Suzanne Arts for Wheat and Tares.

The Margaret Mead Filmmaker Award recognizes documentary filmmakers who embody the spirit, energy, and innovation demonstrated by anthropologist Margaret Mead in her research, fieldwork, films, and writings. The award is given to a filmmaker whose feature documentary offers a new perspective on a culture or community while displaying artistic excellence and originality in storytelling. Eligible filmmakers must present a U.S. premiere at the Margaret Mead Film Festival.

Celebrating 36 years as the preeminent showcase for contemporary cultural storytelling, the 2012 Margaret Mead Film Festival screened 29 outstanding films and hosted special multi-media events and performances throughout this year’s festival including experimental films, unique storytelling formats such as crowd-sourced media, and provocative online games fromGames for Change. The Mead Film Festival is a rare opportunity to view new films that strive to illuminate the complexity and diversity of peoples and cultures from around the world in a museum environment that provides the setting for a deeper level of conversation and understanding.

The American Museum of Natural History, founded in 1869, is one of the world’s preeminent scientific, educational, and cultural institutions. The Museum encompasses 46 permanent exhibition halls, including the Rose Center for Earth and Space and the Hayden Planetarium, as well as galleries for temporary exhibitions. Five active research divisions and three cross-disciplinary centers support 200 scientists, whose work draws on a world-class Permanent Collection of more than 32 million specimens and artifacts, including specialized collections for frozen tissue and genomic and astrophysical data, as well as one of the largest natural history libraries in the Western Hemisphere. Through its Richard Gilder Graduate School, it is the only American museum authorized to grant the Ph.D. degree. In 2012, the Museum began offering a pilot Master of Arts in Teaching with a specialization in earth science. Approximately 5 million visitors from around the world came to the Museum last year, and its exhibitions and Space Shows can be seen in venues on five continents. The Museum’s website and collection of apps for mobile devices extend its collections, exhibitions, and educational programs to millions more beyond its walls. Visit www.amnh.org for more information.

Photo courtesy of the film A Life Without Words (Una Vida Sin Palabras)