Richard Myers (filmmaker)

For persons of a similar name, see Richard Myers (disambiguation).

Richard L. Myers (b. Massillon, Ohio, 1937) is an American experimental filmmaker based in northeast Ohio.[1][2][3] He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree (1959) and a Master of Arts degree (1961), both from Kent State University in Kent, Ohio.[4]

Myers taught at Kent State University in the art department beginning in 1964 and is particularly known for his 1970 film Confrontation at Kent State,[5] which he filmed in Kent during the week following the Kent State shootings of May 4, 1970; it is an important document of the period.

Myers began to produce independent films in the early 1960s. Many of his films are highly personal, with non-narrative or loose narrative structures derived from his dreams. Although some films (as, for example, his 1993 film Tarp) feature no actors at all, instead focusing entirely on inanimate objects, most films feature nonprofessional actors and are produced on very small budgets.[citation needed]

Myers is the recipient of two (due to a name spelling error) Guggenheim Fellowships[6] as well as grants from the American Film Institute and the National Endowment for the Arts.[citation needed]

The Academy Film Archive preserved several of Richard Myers' films, including Akran, The Path, and Allison Beth Krause.[7]

Now retired from Kent State University, Myers lives with his wife in Munroe Falls, Ohio.

  1. ^ The New York Times film reviews. New York Times. 1973. pp. 6, 177. ISBN 9780405022173.
  2. ^ (U.S.), Foundation for Independent Video and Film (1997-01-01). Independent film and video monthly. Foundation for Independent Video and Film. p. 36. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  3. ^ Lee-Wright, Pete; Lee-Wright, Peter (2009-10-01). The Documentary Handbook. Taylor & Francis. p. 298. ISBN 978-0-415-43402-7. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  4. ^ "Myers Awarded $9000 Grant". Daily Kent Stater. April 17, 1969. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  5. ^ Sagert, Kelly Boyer (2007). The 1970s. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 45–. ISBN 978-0-313-33919-6. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  6. ^ "Richard L. Myers". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  7. ^ "Preserved Projects". Academy Film Archive.