Flaherty, Robert

Flaherty, Robert (Joseph)

(born Feb. 16, 1884, Iron Mountain, Mich., U.S.—died July 23, 1951, Dummerston, Vt.) U.S. filmmaker, considered the father of the documentary. He grew up in remote northern Canada and later led explorations of the area (1910–16). He lived with the Eskimos for 16 months and filmed their way of life. His resulting film, Nanook of the North (1922), was an international success and established the model for the documentary film. His later documentaries include Moana (1926), Tabu (1931), Man of Aran (1934), The Land (1942), and Louisiana Story (1948).