Lehrhaus Judaica > Courses > Ordinary Miracles: A Screening and Conversation on the Photo League of New York
Ordinary Miracles: A Screening and Conversation on the Photo League of New York

In 1936, a group of progressive photographers in New York formed the Photo League. This collective shared a passion for documentary photography, but not only did they value the aesthetics of the form, they considered the art to be a direct expression of their political and social ideals. Members of the Photo League would walk through the streets of New York, with 4x5 cameras, 2 1/4 twin lens reflex, and 35 mm cameras, photographing human subjects and the urban conditions of their period. The Photo League prospered during the New Deal and post-war era, and dissolved in 1951, a victim of the Cold War.
Learn more about the lives of these transformative photographers in a screening of the feature-length documentary film, Ordinary Miracles: The Photo League’s New York, and a lively conversation with the award-winning director/producers, Nina Rosenblum and Daniel V. Allentuck, both intimately connected to the people as well as the history of the Photo League.
The exhibition, The Radical Camera: New York’s Photo League, 1936-1951, is on view at the Contemporary Jewish Museum from October 11, 2012 - January 21, 2013.
Schedule
Sunday, December 16
2:00 - 4:00 pm
| Session | Time | Days | Location | Instructors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 16 | 2:00 PM–4:00 PM | Sun | CJM | Daniel Allentuck Nina Rosenblum |
Location
Instructors
Daniel V. Allentuck is a writer, producer and a co-founder of Daedalus Productions, Inc. His films include America and Lewis Hine [NY Film Festival Premiere/ PBS broadcast, IDA Award], narrated by Jason Robards, Jr. and John Crowley, A History of Women Photographers, narrated by Maureen Stapleton and Walter Rosenblum: In Search of Pitt Street. He wrote the script for the Academy-Award-nominated feature documentary Liberators: Fighting on Two Fronts in WWII, narrated by Denzel Washington, which was broadcast on PBS’ "American Experience” series. He has a Distinguished Achievement Award from the International Documentary Association, a Chris Statuette from the Columbus Film Festival, two Cine Golden Eagle Awards, a W.I.C.I. Clarion Award and a Blue Ribbon from the American Film Festival.
Nina Rosenblum is an Academy Award-nominated producer, director and writer of documentaries, shorts and segments. President of Daedalus Productions, Inc., she has produced and directed for TBS, HBO, PBS, NY TIMES TV, SHOWTIME, ABC, NBC. Her co-production partners include Channel Four/UK; WDR/Germany; La Sept, France, Canal + Spain and SBS/Australia. She is a member of the Directors’ Guild of America, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, NY Women in Film, the Independent Feature Project and the International Documentary Association. Her films include America & Lewis Hine, Through the Wire, Lock-Up: The Prisoners of Rikers Island, Walter Rosenblum: In Search of Pitt Street, Twin Lenses, Code Yellow: Hospital at Ground Zero, Zahira's Peace and In the Name of Democracy.