Allan Francovich papers, 1962-1997

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Summary

Creators:
Francovich, Allan
Extent:
1.5 linear feet 38 folders
Language:
English and Collection materials are in English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Allan Francovich Collection. [PFA -- MSS -- 002]. UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, University of California, Berkeley.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection comprises scripts, production notes, personal papers, and other types of materials related to the life and work of Bay Area documentary filmmaker Allan Francovich (1941-1997).

Biographical / historical:

Allan Francovich was born on March 23, 1941, in New York City. The son of a mining engineer, Francovich grew up in Bolivia and Peru and learned to speak many languages, including Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese. He attended the University of San Marcos in Lima before going on to Notre Dame University, where he earned a B.A. in English, Romance and Slavic Languages. In Paris, at the height of the French New Wave in cinema, he studied Comparative Literature and Drama at the Sorbonne, as well as Russian and Serbo-Croatian at L'Ecole des Langues Orientales. He later obtained an M.A. in Dramatic Arts from the University of California in Berkeley. A prolific writer, Francovich also translated books, poetry, and plays from many languages into English. He was an American Film Institute Fellow in 1969, and an American Federation of Arts Fellow in 1970. In addition to working as a film director, Francovich also had experience as an actor, theatrical lighting designer, and camera man. Francovich was best known for his independent documentaries, including On Company Business (1980), a documentary on the Central Intelligence Agency and U.S. foreign policy; The Houses are Full of Smoke (1987), a three-part documentary on the death squads in Central America; and The Maltese Double Cross (1994), a documentary on Pan Am's infamous flight 103, which crashed in Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988. His films have aired on numerous television channels including PBS, the BBC, Swedish Television, and Canal 13 in Mexico, as well as at myriad international film festivals, garnering multiple awards. On Company Business was selected as the best documentary film at the Berlin Film Festival in 1980, and also received the Jury Prize for documentary at the Leipzig Film Festival. It was further chosen as one of the ten best films shown at the Sydney Film Festival in Australia. The Maltese Double Cross won First Prize for documentary at the Edinburgh Film Festival. Francovich died on April 17, 1997, of natural causes. At the time of his death, he was working on a short film on art collector and philanthropist Dominique de Menil (with the Centre Pompidou), as well as an investigation of the Olof Palme assassination and several screenplays.

Processing information:
Finding Aid Author(s):
Kerwin So
Date Completed:
2005-12-09
Arrangement:

Arranged into seven series: Series 1. Scripts, Production Material, and Reviews, 1973-1994, undated Series 2. Articles and Essays, 1969-1997, undated Series 3. Correspondence, 1972-1997, undated Series 4. Personal Papers, 1962-1997, undated Series 5. Interviews and Clippings, 1981-1997, undated Series 6. Miscellany, 1981-1998, undated Series 7. Multimedia, 1941-1997, undated

Physical location:
UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive
Rules or conventions:
Finding Aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Allan Francovich Collection. [PFA -- MSS -- 002]. UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, University of California, Berkeley.

Location of this collection:
2120 Oxford Street
#2250
Berkeley, CA 94720-2250, US
Contact:
(510) 642-1437
bampfafilmlibrary@berkeley.edu
Website