Back to Films

Our Nixon

Synopsis

Throughout Richard Nixon's presidency, three of his top White House aides obsessively documented their experiences with Super 8 home movie cameras. Young, idealistic and dedicated, they had no idea that a few years later they'd all be in prison. This unique and personal visual record, created by H.R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman and Dwight Chapin, was seized by the FBI during the Watergate investigation, then filed away and forgotten for almost 40 years. OUR NIXON is an all-archival documentary presenting those home movies for the first time, along with other rare footage, creating an intimate and complex portrait of the Nixon presidency as never seen before.

Connect

Learn more about OUR NIXON and connect with the film:

See the Film

The Filmmakers

Penny Lane Director

Penny Lane has been making award-winning documentaries and essay films since 2002. Her films have screened at Rotterdam, AFI FEST, The Media That Matters Film Festival, Rooftop Films, Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, MoMA's Documentary Fortnight and many other venues. She has been awarded grants from Cinereach, TFI Documentary Fund, LEF Foundation, NYSCA, Experimental Television Center, IFP and the Puffin Foundation. OUR NIXON is her first feature documentary, for which she was awarded several grants and a residency at Yaddo. She is a Creative Capital grantee and was named one of Filmmaker Magazine's “25 New Faces of Independent Film” in 2012. And yes, that is her real name.

Bryan L. Frye Producer

Brian L. Frye is a filmmaker, writer, and professor of law. His films explore relationships between history, society, and cinema through archival and amateur images.

Festivals & Awards

New Directors/New Films

2013

Closing Night Film

SXSW TV & Film Festival

2013

Official Selection

Hot Docs Film Festival

2013

Official Selection

CPH:DOX

2013

Official Selection

Rotterdam International Film Festival

2013

Official Selection

Traverse City Film Festival

2013

Winner - Best Documentary

Full Frame Documentary Film Festival

2013

Official Selection

AFI DOCS

2013

Official Selection

Reviews

This ingenious documentary honors Nixon's peculiar place in the American psyche.”

-The New York Times

An illuminating and often hilarious portrayal of the man and his myth, and those who surrounded him.”

-Indiewire

This highly personal view of the Nixon years is filled with spirit, humor and a bountiful sense of irony.”

-The Wall Street Journal

A haunting, thoroughly evocative ride.”

-Los Angeles Times