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.
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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