Alumnae Profile: Kris Samuelson ’66
Telling
the story
By Julie Lundgren Alumnae Relations Director
This past summer I had the great pleasure of meeting Kris Samuelson ’66, longtime Stanford professor and Oscarnominated documentarian. After living in Tokyo for a year, Kris recently finished making Tokyo Waka, a 63-minute documentary essay about Tokyo’s people, its crows, and their coexistence. She took time from her busy schedule to answer some questions about her career.
12 Mes Amis Fall 2011
Q.: With an overabundance of “storytelling” in the world today through vehicles such Facebook and YouTube, how do you, as a documentarian and educator, teach quality storytelling? A. There is a lot of generic storytelling out there these days. It is so easy to pick up a camera and create a little film—even off-the-cuff. A lot of this work is mediocre, simply repeating some of the old storytelling modes without a lot of originality. That said, every so often I see a film that is really trying to frame a story in a fresh way. There is a lot of experimentation out there, both weak and strong. I also think there are new strands of visual communication developing that lend themselves to quick and casual exchanges. I wouldn’t call them storytelling in a strict sense in that they don’t have the conceptual development I look for in narrative. They can, however, get people talking about the topic at hand. Good storytelling is challenging. In teaching storytelling approaches, I introduce students to the classical linear structures (causal, chronological, conflict-result) but also like to get students thinking about less obvious formal storytelling strategies, such as essays, diary films and poems. My work falls more into this latter category, which is why I find it of particular interest. Q.: Looking at the subjects of your documentaries—the Vietnam War, homelessness, 9/11, to name a few— you educate the public on sensitive and difficult issues. Have your films ultimately facilitated social or environmental change? A.: It is difficult to really know the effects of films one creates. In that they enlighten, inspire, disturb and promote discussion,