Charlotte Zwerin (born Charlotte Mitchell, August 15, 1931January 22, 2004) was an American

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

director and

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

known for her solo work profiling artists and musicians, and as a pioneer of

direct cinema Direct cinema is a documentary genre that originated between 1958 and 1962—principally in Quebec and the United States—and was developed in France by Jean Rouch. It is a cinematic practice employing lightweight portable filming equipment, han ...

and

cinéma vérité Cinéma vérité (, , ) is a style of documentary filmmaking developed by Edgar Morin and Jean Rouch, inspired by Dziga Vertov's theory about '' Kino-Pravda''. It combines improvisation with use of the camera to unveil truth or highlight subje ...

, co-directing the documentaries ''

Salesman Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. A period during which goods are sold for a reduced price may also be referred ...

'' (1969), ''

Gimme Shelter "Gimme Shelter" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. Written by Jagger–Richards, it is the opening track of the band's 1969 album '' Let It Bleed''. The song covers the brutal realities of war, including murder, rape and f ...

'' (1970), and ''Running Fence'' (1978) with

Albert and David Maysles Albert Maysles (November 26, 1926 – March 5, 2015) and his brother David Maysles (January 10, 1931 – January 3, 1987; ) were an American documentary filmmaking team known for their work in the Direct Cinema style. Their best-known films in ...

Biography

Zwerin grew up in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, Michigan. She studied at

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

and established a film club there which sparked her interest in documentary filmmaking. After this, she moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and found a job with Drew Associates, who were pioneers of direct cinema in the United States. Here, she met and began to work with

. Zwerin went onto edit and co-direct two of the canonical

documentaries with the Maysles brothers: ''

'' and ''

.'' Zwerin died of lung cancer in January 2004 at her home in Manhattan, at the age of 72.

Career

Zwerin was an editor who worked on some of the canonical films of the

mode of documentary filmmaking including ''Salesman'' and ''Gimme Shelter.'' ''Salesman'' is concerned with following door-to-door

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

salesmen as they attempt to sell the greatest "best seller in the world." ''Gimme Shelter'' monitors the famous London rock band, ''

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

'', during their 1969 tour which culminated in the deadly

Altamont Free Concert The Altamont Speedway Free Festival was a counterculture rock concert in the United States, held on Saturday, December 6, 1969, at the Altamont Speedway outside of Tracy, California. Approximately 300,000 attended the concert, with some an ...

. The film has gained a great deal of notoriety, infamy and controversy for portraying a stabbing which resulted in the

killing of Meredith Hunter Meredith Curly Hunter Jr. (October 24, 1951 – December 6, 1969) was an American man who was killed at the 1969 Altamont Free Concert. During the performance by the Rolling Stones, Hunter approached the stage, and was violently driven off by me ...

at the hands of the

Hells Angels The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is an international outlaw motorcycle club founded in California whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells ...

, who were working as security for the concert. Zwerin directed several other documentaries with subjects such as

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk ( October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the Jazz standard, standard jazz repertoire, includ ...

, "the brilliant and eccentric jazz pianist", the Armenian abstract painter

Arshile Gorky Arshile Gorky ( ; born Vostanik Manoug Adoian, ; April 15, 1904 – July 21, 1948) was an Armenian Americans, Armenian-American painter who had a seminal influence on Abstract Expressionism. He spent the last years of his life as a national of the ...

, and the legendary singer

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

, among many others. Her last film credit was as story consultant on the documentary film ''West 47th Street'' (2001). Zwerin's work is often described as following the French documentary style of representation known as

. Her work is also emblematic of the

style.

Filmography

* ''

'' (1969) * ''

'' (1970) * ''Running Fence'' (1978) * ''De Kooning on de Kooning'' (1981) * ''Arshile Gorky'' (1982) * ''Islands'' (1987) * ''Horowitz Plays Mozart'' (1987) * '' Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser'' (1989) * ''Music for the Movies: Toru Takemitsu'' (1994) * ''Sculpture of Spaces: Noguchi'' (1995) * ''Ella Fitzgerald: Something to Live For'' (1999)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zwerin, Charlotte 1931 births 2004 deaths American documentary film directors American women documentary filmmakers Artists from Detroit Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state) Wayne State University alumni