Press Release:
Beverly Hills, CA — The Oscar®-winning documentary short subjects of 1969 and 1970 and the winning documentary feature of 1969 will screen on Monday, October 16, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Linwood Dunn Theater as the next installment of "Oscar's Docs, Part Two: Academy Award®-Winning Documentaries 1961–1976." The 11-week series showcases the short and feature-length documentaries honored each year by the Academy.
Czechoslovakia 1968, produced by Robert M. Fresco and Denis Sanders for the United States Information Agency (USIA), captured the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in the spring of 1968. The film, a compilation of smuggled footage shot by Czech television stations and material obtained from the USSR's Sovfoto Agency, took home the Oscar for Documentary Short Subject in 1969. A 35mm print from the UCLA Film & Television Archive will be screened courtesy of Sanders-Fresco Film Makers and the USIA.
Arthur Rubinstein: Love of Life highlights the piano virtuoso's determinedly joyous attitude and boundless enthusiasm for music. Producers Bernard Chevry, Bernard Gavoty and François Reichenbach followed Rubinstein for three months and made extensive use of home movies to capture the man and the artist. A 35mm print of the 1969 Academy Award winner for Documentary Feature, purchased from Bernard Chevry for the Academy Film Archive, will be screened courtesy of Midem Productions.
In Interviews with My Lai Veterans, producer-director Joseph Strick set out to uncover the truths of the 1968 Vietnamese village massacre by speaking with American servicemen who were there. Though the five ex-soldiers who agreed to be interviewed spoke easily of committing murder, they would not discuss any sex crimes. Even after winning the Oscar for Documentary Short Subject, the film was rejected by all but one of the U.S. public television stations. A new 35mm print of the film, preserved by the Academy Film Archive, will be screened courtesy of Laser Film Corporation.
The Academy Award winner for Documentary Feature in 1970, Woodstock, will be screened on Monday, October 23, at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater. A cast and crew reunion will be held at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater the following night, Tuesday, October 24. Both events will start at 7:30 p.m.
Passes for "Oscar's Docs, Part Two: Academy Award-Winning Documentaries 1961–1976" are available at a cost of $30 for the general public and $25 for Academy members and students with valid ID. Tickets for individual evenings of the series are available for $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with valid ID. Passes and tickets may be purchased by mail, in person at the Academy during regular business hours or, depending on availability, on the night of the screening when the doors open at 6:30 p.m. The Academy's Linwood Dunn Theater is located at 1313 North Vine Street in Hollywood. For more information, call (310) 247-3600.