Robert Gardner Awarded James Smithson Bicentennial Medal

Smithsonian Recognizes Gardner’s Documentary Filmmaking Career

The Smithsonian is awarding documentary filmmaker Robert Gardner the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal in honor of his commitment to excellence and support for public understanding and engagement. The award will be given Friday, April 26, in the Smithsonian Castle.

The James Smithson Bicentennial Medal, established in 1965, is given under the Secretary’s authority to persons who have made distinguished contributions to the advancement of areas of interest to the Smithsonian. Recent recipients include filmmakers Clint Eastwood, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.

Gardner’s career spans more than six decades and includes two of the most recognized and used films in teaching anthropology, Dead Birds (1963) and The Hunters (1957). Gardner has traveled the world to document the universal human experience, and his highly acclaimed work has received numerous recognitions. In addition to the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal, Gardner has received the Robert J. Flaherty Award for best nonfiction film, the Gold Lion for Best Film at the Florence Film Festival and first-prize awards at the Trento, Melbourne, Nuoro, EarthWatch, Athens and San Francisco film festivals.

AFI Silver, a program of the American Film Institute, will screen some of Gardner’s documentaries during its film festival April 20-28. More information can be found at http://afi.com/silver/. AFI Member passes will be accepted at all screenings in the Robert Gardner series.