Kramer, Robert

(June 22, 1939, New York City, New York, USA - November 10, 1999, Rouen, Seine-Maritime, France)

   He studied philosophy and the history of Western Europe at Stanford University before founding and managing (from 1967 to 1971) The Newsreel, a politi­cally involved group that gathered independent film­makers and helped them concretize and release their works. He started shooting documentaries denounc­ing the flaws of the United States, notably the Viet­nam War. In France since the early 1980s, he filmed several fiction motion pictures. As a co-screenwriter, he collaborated on the following movies: 1982 Ges-tos e Fragmentos (also actor, Alberto Seixas Santos, Portugal); Der Stand der Dinge / O estado das Coisas / The State of Things (Wim Wenders, West Germany / Portugal / USA). Other credits (as actor): 1978 Nem passaro Nem Peixe (Solveig Nordlund, Portugal); 1982 Chambre 666 / USA: Room 666 (TV, as himself, Wim Wenders, France / West Germany); 1991 Swing Troubadour (Bruno Bayen); 1997 Leven met je Ogen (documentary, as himself, Ramon Gieling, Nether­lands); 1998 L'Ennui / O tédio (Cédric Kahn, France / Portugal); 1999 Just in Time (short, Lou Castel); 2000 Devotion: A Film About Ogawa Productions (documentary, as himself, Barbara Hammer, Japan / USA); Le P'tit Bleu (TV, François Vautier); Oscillations (short, Arnaud Gautier).

 Filmography

1965 ◘ FALN (short; also screenwriter; co-director with Peter Gessner; USA)

1967 ◘ In the Country (also screenwriter, producer, editor; USA)

1968 ◘ The Edge (also screenwriter, producer, actor; USA)

1970 ◘ The People's War (documentary; co-director with John Douglas, Norman Fruchter; USA)

        ◘ Ice (also screenwriter, dialogist, actor; USA)

1975 ◘ Milestones (co-director with John Douglas; also screenwriter, cinematographer, editor; USA)

1977 ◘ Scenes From the Class Struggle in Portugal (documentary; also cinematographer, editor; USA)

1980 ◘ Guns (also screenwriter, dialogist, actor)

1982 ◘ A toute Allure

        ◘ Notre Nazi (documentary; also cinematographer; France / West Germany)

        ◘ Diesel (also co-adapter, co-dialogist)

1987 ◘ Doc's Kingdom (also screenwriter, dialogist; France / Portugal)

1989 ◘ Route One USA (also screenwriter, dialogist, cinematographer, editor; France / Italy / UK)

1991 ◘ Contre l'Oubli / Ecrire contre l'Oubli / Against Oblivion / Lest We Forget (short; segment "Pour Fidel Intursa Fernandez, Pérou")

1994 ◘ Starting Place / Point de Départ (documentary; also screenwriter, editor)

        ◘ Le Manteau (also screenwriter, dialogist)

        ◘ Walk the Walk (also screenwriter, dialogist, cinematographer, editor; France / Belgium / Switzerland)

        ◘ The Ghosts of Electricity (short; also screenwriter, cinematographer, editor; France / Swit­zerland)

2001 ◘ Cités de la Plaine (documentary; also screenwriter)