George Stoney
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George Stoney, photo courtesy David Bagnall

George Cashel Stoney was a legendary documentary filmmaker who was considered by many to be a father of public access television.  He has mentored hundreds of young filmmakers as a professor of production and media theory at NYU, where he  taught beginning in 1970. At NYU, he co-founded the Alternate Media Center, and his interns eventually went on the start the Alliance for Community Media. 

George was born in Winston-Salem, NC, on July 1, 1916. Prior to his film career, he worked as a freelance journalist, and a photo intelligence officer. He began making films in 1946, focusing on films primarily in the areas of health and social change.  Eventually he became Executive Director of the National Film Board of Canada’s influential Challenge for Change series from 1966-1970. George passed away peacefully at home on July 12, 2012 at the age of 96. He was an exceptionally friendly, engaging, and intellectually interested individual who never tired of giving his time to anyone with an inquiring mind. He'll be missed.

Filmography 

George’s filmography is extensive, and continually growing. We have listed it here, chronologically by year, in alphabetical order within each year. The listed films were directed and/or produced by Stoney. From 1975 onward, many of Stoney’s titles were distributed on video, rather than 16mm film. Additional video projects are listed in the Series section at the end of this filmography. 

1946-1949, Southern Educational Film Production Service (SEFPS), University of Georgia, Athens. Stoney worked on a number of films for SEFPS in several capacities, and George apparently didn't keep records of these. One he directed was  River Basin Archaeology (may have also been titled River Valley Archaeology) with a distribution date of 1950, an account of archaeological work in the Allatoona Basin.

Feeling All Right (1944 - Cinematography: Gordon Weisenborn - D: Fred Lasse - Co-W: George Stoney - Produced by the Southern Education Film Production Service)

Mr. Williams Wakes Up (Director/Editor: Gordon Weisenborn - Written by: George Stoney - Sponsored by the North Carolina State Board of Health - Produced by the Southern Education Film Production Service)

Land and Life (1949) for the Tennessee Valley Authority's Test Farm Program
Palmour Street, a Study of Family Life (1949) for the Mental Health Division of the State of Georgia's Health Department
Tar Heel Family (1949) for  the North Carolina State Department of Education.  (North Carolina Government Archive.) 

Concept of Maternal and Neonatal Care, A (1950) for  the Obstetric and Pediatric Divisions, George Washington University Hospital, Washington, D.C. 

All My Babies: A Midwife's Own Story (1953)  for the Georgia Department of Health
American Road. The (1953) for the Ford Motor Company
Angels with Silver Wings (1953) for the U.S. Air Force Nursing Corps

Invader, The (1954) for the Georgia Department of Public Health
Valiant Heart, The (1954) for the American Heart Association

Secrets of the Heart (1955) for the American Heart Association
Still Going Places (1955 - D/P/W:GS - Sponsored by Pfizer
Elsie and Co. (1956) for the Borden Milk Company
Great Big Birthday (1956)  for the Borden Milk Company
Hail the Hearty (1956) for the Borden Milk Company
Proud Years, The (1956) Sponsored by Pfizer
Second Chance (1956) for the American Heart Association

Boy Who Could See Through Walls, The  (1958) for Ted Nemuth Associates
Jack Tars to White Hats (1958)  for Armed Forces Education & Information, also known as The Story of the Navy Uniform
U.S. Army Uniform, The (1958) for Armed Forces Education & Information

Cerebral Vascular Disease: The Challenge of Management (1959) for the American Heart Association

Booked for Safekeeping (1960) for the Louisiana Association for Mental Health
To Speak With Friends I (1960) for the U.S. Office of Education
To Speak With Friends II (1960) for the U.S. Office of Education  

Probing Mind, The  (1961)  for the U.S. Office of Education
Science Through Discovery (1961)  for the U.S. Office of Education
Something for the Girls (1961) for the Girl Scouts of America

Back on the Job (1962)   for the American Heart Association
Help for Young Hearts (1962) for the American Heart Association
Walk With Me (1962) for the United Methodist Church, Board of Global Ministries

Cry for Help, The  (1963)  for the Louisiana Association for Mental Health
Mask, The  1963) for the Louisiana Association for Mental Health
Newcomers, The  (1963 for the United Methodist Church, Board of Global Ministries  

Fur-lined Foxhole, The  (1964)  for the Adult Education Association as part of NET's Metropolis: Creator or Destroyer? series
How Things Get Done (1964)  for the Adult Education Association as part of NET's Metropolis: Creator or Destroyer? series.  Bert Salzman, director and co-producer; Stoney, co-producer. 
How to Look at a City (1964)  for the Adult Education Association as part of NET's Metropolis: Creator or Destroyer? series
How to Live in a City (1964)  for the Adult Education Association as part of NET's Metropolis: Creator or Destroyer? series
Private Dream, Public Nightmare (1964)  for the Adult Education Association as part of NET's Metropolis: Creator or Destroyer? series  John Korty, director, produced by George Stoney
Run from Race, The (1964)  for the Adult Education Association as part of NET's Metropolis: Creator or Destroyer? series
Three Cures for a Sick City (1964)  for the Adult Education Association as part of NET's Metropolis: Creator or Destroyer? series
What Do You Tear Down Next? (1964)  for the Adult Education Association as part of NET's Metropolis: Creator or Destroyer? Series

Critical Decades, The (1965) for the American Heart Association
Under Pressure (1965) for the Louisiana Association for Mental Health

Community Mental Health (1966) for the San Mateo Department of Mental Health
Man in the Middle, The  (1966)  for the Louisiana Association for Mental Health
Myocardial Infarction: The Nurse's Role (1966) for the American Heart Association
0ne Fine Day (1966) for the American Heart Association

Autumn Flight (1967)
New Wind, A (1967) for Baha'i Faith

Family Life in India: Ten of Us (1968) for McGraw-Hill’s Family Life Around the World series

Family Life in Japan: Remember I'm Me (1969) for McGraw-Hill’s Family Life Around the World series
Family Planning: More than a Method (1969) for Planned Parenthood
It Won't Be Easy (1969) for Planned Parenthood.
Robin, Peter, and Daryl  (1969)  for Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital
VTR St-Jacques (1969)  for the National Film Board of Canada,  Challenge for Change series.  Directed by: Bonnie Sherr Klein, Produced by: George C. Stoney
You Are On Indian Land (1969)  for the National Film Board of Canada,  Challenge for Change series.  Directed by: Mort Ransen, Produced by: George C. Stoney

God Help the Man Who Would Part with His Land  (1971)  for the National Film Board of Canada,  Challenge for Change series
Nell and Fred (1971)  for the National Film Board of Canada,  Challenge for Change series.  Directed by: Richard Todd, Produced by: George C. Stoney

Painting from Nature (1972), a documentary on naturalist Dennis Puleston.St. Peter's: People on the Move (1973) for the Lutheran congregation at 51st and Lexington Avenue, New York City
Hudson Shad, The (1974)
Planning for Floods (1974) for the Environmental Defense Fund

Community Control of Schools in New York City and Philadelphia (1975) for the Ford Foundation
Shepherd of the Night Flock (1975) for the Lutheran congregation at 51st and Lexington Avenue, New York City
They Call It Wildcat (1975) for the Ford Foundation
Vera and the Law  (1975) for the Ford Foundation

In China, Family Planning is No Private Matter (1977) for Planned Parenthood
Acupuncture and Herbal Therapy (1977) for Planned Parenthood
Clergy and Cancer, The   (1977) for the American Cancer Society
People with Colostomies (1977)  for the American Cancer Society

How the Myth Was Made (1978)
Two Worlds to Remember (1978) for the Jewish Home and Hospital for the Aged

Weavers, The: Wasn't That a Time! (1982)

Message From Brazil, A (1984) Stoney created this video letter with the Kraho Indians. Along with Anabia Andrade, Andrea Tonacci and Vivian Orni, they explored the tribe and shared perspectives (see also 'Krahos Revisted' (1990).

How One Painter Sees (1986, released 1999) for the Library of Congress
Coping with Difficulty (1986, released 1999) for the Library of Congress

Paolo Freire at Highlander (1987)  for  the Highlander Educational Center

Southern Voices: A Composer's Explorations (1988)
We Shall Overcome {1988) for PBS

Images of the Great Depression (1990) for the Museum of Modern Art
Krahos Revisited (1990)

The Uprising of ’34, The    (1994) for First Run/Icarus Films

Paolo Freire Sampler (1996)

Rehabilitation Through the Arts: Drama at Sing Sing (1997)

Weekend with the Barnouws, A  (1998)

 
Series produced by George Stoney

1968-1970  Challenge for Change, for the National Film Board of Canada

1971-73    The51st State. For WNET's weekly series, he produces thirteen short segments on pollution of the Hudson River, in collaboration
 with the Hudson River Fisherman's Association. Paul Barnes and Jim Brown, co-directors and editors.

1972-76    Several video collections from material created by people working with help from Alternate Media Center, particularly early activists involved in community cable television (public access).  Rory Pinto, primary editor.

1974-78    A series of community action video projects supported by the Ford Foundation's Office of Reports, including:

bulletFair Housing in Queens and Long Island
bulletBoston Media Project

1983 at Clarke College, produced the following videos:

bulletReidsville Bus
bulletHousing Protests
bulletAtlanta Media Project


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