All Projects
The Moon and The Son: An Imagined Conversation
A powerful animated film that explores the difficult emotional terrain of father/son relationships as seen through animator John Canemaker's own turbulent relationship with his father. Featuring the voices of Eli Wallach and John Turturro in the roles of father and son, The Moon and the Son combines memory, fact, conjecture, trial transcripts, audio recordings, home movies, photos, and original animation to tell the story of an Italian immigrant's troubled life and the devastating consequences of his actions on his family.
“One of the most stunning, original and emotionally moving animated films ever created. It belongs in every audio-visual library and animation-lover’s collection.”
- Donald Crafton, University of Notre Dame
AWARDS & FESTIVAL SCREENINGS
Academy Award: Best Animated Short
Emmy Award: Outstanding Graphic and Artistic Design
Telluride Film Festival
Annecy International Animation Festival
Standing Tall
"Recommended for educators looking for examples of alternate pedagogic approaches."
- Video Librarian
Having witnessed an airliner crashing into the second World Trade Center tower on September 11th, fourth- and fifth-grade students at Manhattan's PS 3 work through their feelings about the experience with the help of a drama therapist and a group of youth theater professionals. Standing Tall documents the transformation of the young students' stories into a theatrical performance. It offers a compelling portrait of the sometimes amazing coping strengths that children can display when they are able to work through such experiences with the help of skilled, supportive adults.
FESTIVAL & CONFERENCE SCREENINGS
American Psychological Association
9th International Conference on Family Violence
Columbus International Film and Video Festival
Stephanie
"A bittersweet portrait of a good, talented person slipping through the cracks."
- San Francisco Examiner
Following the filmmaker's teenage neighbor through six pivotal years of her life, Stephanie documents her dreams and disappointments through adolescence. Bright and inquisitive, Stephanie becomes disaffected with high school and the narrow options available to her and ultimately fails to graduate. This award-winning film profiles a typical teenager while pointing to broader issues of socialization, sex-role stereotyping and self-esteem for young women.
AWARDS & FESTIVAL SCREENINGS
American Film Festival: Finalist
Margaret Mead Film Festival
London Film Festival
Jim Dine: Childhood Stories
American Film & Video Festival, Finalist
In Jim Dine: Childhood Stories, the painter discusses, with disarming frankness and increasing intimacy, his childhood and how it influences his current life and work. Produced by Nancy Dine and Peggy Stern. Directed by Peggy Stern.
AWARDS & FESTIVAL SCREENINGS
Nyon Film Festival: Honorable Mention
Cine Golden Eagle
American Film & Video Festival: Finalist
Chuck Jones: Memories of Childhood
"A moving reminder that a child's imagination is not just a terrible thing to waste, but also a surprisingly resilient animal."
- Wired Magazine
In one of his last filmed interviews before his death in 2002, animator Chuck Jones speaks candidly about life in 1920s Los Angeles, and his family’s itinerant and sometimes hardscrabble existence. Stern produced and directed the special, and with Canemaker conducted the interviews. In addition, Canemaker created original animation of Jones' childhood memories, which include revealing anecdotes about the events and personalities who influenced his early creative life and long career in cartoons. Chuck Jones: Memories of Childhood interweaves new animated segments with vintage family photographs and clips from classic cartoons, to reveal Chuck Jones in a new light.
Bali: Beyond the Post Card
National Geographic Earthwatch Film Award
An intimate story about a Balinese family whose gamelan music and Legong dance tradition spans four generations. The documentary follows an important event in the history of the family - the passing down of the Legong dance legacy to the youngest, a nine-year-old member of the family. The filmmakers capture the intensity with which tradition evolves and is passed on in Bali, a dynamic culture steeped in ancient traditions and increasingly exposed to the modern world.
AWARDS & FESTIVAL SCREENINGS
National Geographic Earthwatch Film Award
Grand Prix du Video Danse
Margaret Mead Film Festival
Hawaii International Film Festival
Bombay International Film Festival
Stubborn Hope
London Film Festival
Stubborn Hope is an intimate and compelling portrait of a South African exile in the United States. The film chronicles the period in Dennis Brutus' life after he gained political asylum. He travels across America to Los Angeles, where he lobbies to ensure that South Africa will be permanently banned from the Olympics. His odyssey across America becomes the window into his thoughts and deeds, particularly as he struggles to blend his personal voice with his political vision in the movement to liberate South Africa. Produced and directed by Peggy Stern.
AWARDS & FESTIVAL SCREENINGS
The Margaret Mead Film Festival
London Film Festival
Filmex
Global Village
Museum of Modern Art
Cinema Du Reel
Debut
Chicago International Film Festival, Golden Hugo Award
A documentary exploring the realities of life as a classical musician through the story of Hexagon, a newly formed chamber ensemble. Produced and directed by Peggy Stern. Funded by John R. Jakobson Foundation, Peter Palumbo Trust, among others. Broadcast nationally on PBS in October 1990.
AWARDS & FESTIVAL SCREENINGS
Chicago Film Festival, Golden Hugo Award
Artful Reading
Funded by Studio in A School, NYC
This documentary follows an innovative program to help parents combine art and picture books to reinforce early literacy skills. Filmed in Bedford Stuyvesant, three families reveal what they have learned from their involvement in a Studio in A School workshop.