Figure in a Landscape
Producer – Janet Mendelsohn and Claire Marino
46 minutes, 1988
In Distribution
This documentary explores the evolution of the American landscape through the eyes of John Brinckerhoff Jackson who is considered by many to be the originator of landscape studies in the United States. The film is both a portrait of the man and a portrait of America’s human-made landscape. The film moves through time and across the country, from the deeply-rooted Puritan New England village to the temporary landscape of the road, the shopping mall and the trailer park. It encourages every viewer to experience more directly the particular qualities of the region in which they live; its history, popular culture, the special qualities that make it unlike other places, as well as those qualities that are shared with other regions of the country as particularly American.
Screenings and awards include: American Film Festival (Finalist); National Educational Film and Video Festival; Bronze Apple.
Major funding was provided by The National Endowment for the Arts, The Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities, and the LEF Foundation.