ALAN GOVENAR, Director

Alan Govenar is a writer, folklorist, photographer, and filmmaker. He is president of Documentary Arts, which he founded in 1985 to present new perspectives on historical issues and diverse cultures. Govenar is the author more than twenty books and is a Guggenheim Fellow. The Off-Broadway premiere of his musical Blind Lemon Blues, created with Akin Babatunde received rave reviews in The New York Times and Variety.

Govenar’s film Stoney Knows How, based on his book by the same title about Old School tattoo artist Leonard St. Clair, was shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, and was selected as an Outstanding Film of the Year by the London Film Festival. Govenar has also produced and directed numerous films in association with NOVA, La Sept/ARTE, and the corporation for public broadcasting. Govenar has most recently directed The Beat Hotel and Master Qi and the Monkey King, both distributed through First Run Features.