Remembering St. Clair Bourne — A Film Veteran and Legend

December 17, 2007

I am deeply saddened and devastated about the physical transition of St. Clair Bourne who was a prolific documentary filmmaker, activist, and teacher.

I didn’t know him very well. However, I, like so many filmmakers benefitted from his generosity of sharing some of his most valuable resources- - his knowledge and expertise — spanning at least two generations– about both the craft and business of documentary filmmaking. As a mentor and teacher, St. Clair was always willing to be of support to filmmakers including myself who, in comparison to him, were in the early stages of learning the craft of documentary filmmaking. He would review proposals, view works-in-progress, organize rough cut screenings, recommend filmmakers for grants and awards.

His Chamba Notes Blog was one of the most informative blogs on a myriad of topics of particular importance to the Diasporic African community worldwide. Through his Blog, I always either learned something or was challenged to think about something from a different perspective.

A prolific documentarian, St. Clair has been the producer, director and writer of some forty-five film productions, including documentaries for HBO, PBS, NBC, BBC and National Geographic, in addition to his own independent work, which includes “Making ‘Do the Right Thing‘,” “Paul Robeson: Here I Stand!,” “Let the Church Say Amen,” “In Motion: Amiri Baraka,” “The Black and the Green,” “Langston Hughes: The Dream Keeper,” “New Orleans Brass,” and “John Henrik Clarke: A Great and Mighty Walk.” He also executive produced Kathe Sandler’s “A Question of Color,” and Thomas Allen Harris’ “Twelve Disciples of Nelson Mandela.” And, he produced “Half Past Autumn: The Life and Works of Gordon Parks,” among numerous other documentaries.

Atlanta-based citizen of the world, photo griot Susan J. Ross wrote “St. was an incredible man, a superb mind, a shining star who blazed across our world, rewriting history, a stone cold truth-tellin man. We will miss him and his work shall live on in our hearts.”

In an indieWire article remembering St. Clair, Floyd Webb wrote “…Did he get the recognition he deserved? I keep hearing people ask this question. Hell, did he get the opportunities to do work that he was deserving of is the better question. It does not matter. St. never stopped working and as hard it got, he continued and struggled through. When St. had down time he was always thinking of things to do to bring people together and to share information. In New York, he helped found the Black Documentary Association (BDA) and in LA he was instrumental in founding the Black Association of Documentary Filmmakers (BAD). His mission was to leave something behind that others like himself could benefit from. He never compromised his principles and beliefs and never lost his sense of humour.”

In a short video produced by David Frank, for The New York Times, featuring the photographs of master photographer Chester Higgins, St. Clair Bourne discusses his career past and future.

St. Clair Bourne was a map maker, road breaker, and trail blazer who will be terribly missed. Thank Goddess he left a powerful legacy, which includes an impactful body of work, that will influence contemporary and future generations of filmmakers, activists…citizens of the world who are committed to using the camera lens to making revolution irrisistible. Ase. Ase. Ase.