The Pare Lorentz CenterThe mission of the Pare Lorentz Center is to teach history and social studies, and to perpetuate Lorentz’s use of the documentary format in inspiring social and political messages.
“What I want to do is photograph America—show the people what it really looks like…the farms and factories, the hills and mountains and streams…real people and real places.”
– Pare Lorentz: Documentary Filmmaker
Pare Lorentz was an award-winning documentary filmmaker who believed that film holds enormous potential for advancing social justice and education. He created ground-breaking documentaries for New Deal agencies of the Roosevelt administration: the Resettlement Administration (RA), the Farm Service Administration (FSA), and the U.S. Film Service. His films are a powerful synthesis of stunning imagery, poetic narration, and evocative music and have inspired generations of filmmakers.
In 1993 his widow, Mrs. Elizabeth Meyer Lorentz, established the Pare Lorentz Center at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, New York. Its mission is to apply the audiovisual techniques pioneered by Pare Lorentz to teach history and social studies, and to perpetuate Lorentz’s use of the documentary format in inspiring social and political messages. Since its creation, the center has produced audio and visual material used in classrooms across the country and around the world.
Pare Lorentz Bio
Pare Lorentz, known as FDR’s moviemaker, felt strongly that movies held enormous potential for social justice and education. Under the Roosevelt Administration, he worked to create federally funded films good enough to share billing on commercial screens with Hollywood productions.View More