Carroll Ballard: An American Cinematheque Retrospective

ABOUT THE SERIES:

The American Cinematheque is thrilled to welcome acclaimed American filmmaker Carroll Ballard in-person for a retrospective featuring many of his most iconic works. Beginning as a documentarian of predominantly short films exploring American landscapes and human intersections with nature, Ballard proceeded to direct many beloved family-friendly films that explore similar ecological and human themes, communicating ideas paramount to our existence in the world, in a cinematic language deeply understood by audiences of all ages, including a generation of children who grew up learning and loving through Ballard’s heartening filmography.

Ballard first displayed his fascination with humanity’s relation to nature through filmic investigations of a formal identity concurrent with magical realism, with short films such as “Pigs” and “Harvest,” soon expanding to illustrate the innate tension between human and nature with “Rodeo.” Already an incredibly intuitive documentarian, thus intrigued with how we consume information and discern truth, Ballard directs “Seems Like Only Yesterday,” revealing the overwhelming montage of information and images fed to our brains every day, of every year, for every lifetime.

Realizing there must be a kinder method of conveying truth to audiences than modern media had to offer, Ballard begins directing powerful human stories drenched in beautiful imagery, highlighting the explicit serenity of the natural world and how human beings may find their place within the natural order. The evolution of Ballard’s cinematic philosophy is evident in the progression from films like THE BLACK STALLION and NEVER CRY WOLF, both of which entail human protagonists who learn to better understand their natural environments and the animals we share such spaces with, and films such as FLY AWAY HOME and DUMA, which place child protagonists directly alongside wild animals who become their adopted family, further sealing the invisible gap between “us” and “them.”