Robert Flaherty
An image from Tabu: A Story of the South Seas, one of the productions that also features Robert Flaherty.
Robert Flaherty

Robert Flaherty

February 16, 1884 — Iron Mountain, Michigan, USA

Robert Joseph Flaherty (February 16, 1884 – July 23, 1951) was an American filmmaker who directed and produced the first commercially successful feature-length documentary film, Nanook of the North (1922). The film made his reputation and nothing in his later life fully equaled its success, although he continued the development of this new genre of narrative documentary with Moana (1926), set in the South Seas, and Man of Aran (1934), filmed in Ireland's Aran Islands. Flaherty is considered the "father" of both the documentary and the ethnographic film. Andrew Sarris in his influential book of film criticism The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929–1968 included him in the "pantheon" of the 14 greatest film directors who had worked in the United States.

Nanook of the North

Nanook of the North

1922

Tabu: A Story of the South Seas

Tabu: A Story of the South Seas

1931

Man of Aran

Man of Aran

1934

Louisiana Story

Louisiana Story

1948

Moana

Moana

1926

Why We Fight: The Battle of Russia

Why We Fight: The Battle of Russia

1943

Why We Fight: The Nazis Strike

Why We Fight: The Nazis Strike

1943

White Shadows in the South Seas

White Shadows in the South Seas

1928