(PDF) (DOC) (JPG)March 21, 2011

On March 21, the Gross Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies and the Communication Arts Major’s Cinematheque Series hosted a screening of the documentary “Legacy of a Dream,” which summarizes Dr. Martin Luther King’s public life and delineates his central role in the civil rights campaigns.

Richard Kaplan, director and producer of the film, introduced and led a discussion of the film after it was shown. As he explained, the film was produced for the Martin Luther King Foundation and had to be pieced together from bits and pieces of newsreel and television footage, and includes material from the period before the Civil rights leader was a national figure. Narrated by James Earl Jones, the film features Andrew Young and Coretta Scott King.

Kaplan has had a distinguished record as a documentary film and television writer, director, and producer, both in the United States and abroad. His work has won considerable acclaim and critical recognition, including two Academy Awards. He is also the recipient of an Emmy Award for “outstanding historical and cultural programming.”

In addition to his many documentaries, made in the course of a career that has spanned almost 60 years, Kaplan’s film work has encompassed the detailed planning and development of theatrical feature films. Last February, the Museum of Modern Art recognized Richard Kaplan’s contribution to documentary filmmaking by running a weeklong series of his work.

Student asking question at screening of “Legacy of a Dream”

Richard Kaplan

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