Finding Aid to the Allan Francovich Papers PFA.MSS.002
Kerwin So
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
BAMPFA Film Library
Title: Allan Francovich papers
creator:
Francovich, Allan
Identifier/Call Number: PFA.MSS.002
Physical Description:
1.5 linear feet
38 folders
Date (inclusive): 1962-1997
Language of Material: Collection materials are in English
Physical Location: UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive
Processing Information
- Finding Aid Author(s):
- Kerwin So
- Date Completed:
- 2005-12-09
Conditions Governing Access
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.
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
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.
Scope and Contents
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).
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Motion picture producers and directors--California--Berkeley
Documentary films--United States
Francovich, Allan
Francovich, Allan
Box 1
Series 1. Scripts, production materials, and reviews
1973-1994, undated
Physical Description: 23 folders
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by project title, with each type of document housed in separate folders per project title as needed.
Scope and Contents
This series contains scripts and manuscripts, production materials, and film reviews. This series also includes documents
related to projects that were not produced. Several productions directed or co-produced by Francovich are not represented
in this collection. They are
The Lobster Pot (1968),
Chile in the Heart (1978),
Dark Passage (1990), and
Murder in Mississippi (1991).
Box 1, Folder 1
Broken Threads and Dead Sons Make the Cloth [unproduced]
undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1, Folder 2
Dominique de Menil Project [unproduced]
undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1, Folder 3
La Durée Poignardée (or Time Daggered) [unproduced]
undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1, Folder 4
Geronimo [unproduced]
undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1, Folder 5
Gladio: The Ringmaster
1992
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1, Folder 6
Gorilla Gumbo (or Bugs Goes to War) [unproduced]
undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1, Folder 7
The Houses are Full of Smoke [1 of 4]
1987
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1, Folder 8
The Houses are Full of Smoke [2 of 4]
1987
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1, Folder 9
The Houses are Full of Smoke [3 of 4]
1987
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1, Folder 10
The Houses are Full of Smoke [4 of 4]
1987
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1, Folder 11
Leviticus [unproduced]
undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1, Folder 12
The Lottery of Babylon [unproduced]
undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1, Folder 13
The Maltese Double Cross
1994
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1, Folder 14
Mind the Gap [unproduced]
undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1, Folder 15
No Coward Soul [unproduced]
undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1, Folder 16
Olof Palme Project (a.k.a., Northern Lights) [unproduced]
undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1, Folder 17
On Company Business
1980
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1, Folder 18
The Republic [unproduced]
undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1, Folder 19
San Francisco Good Times
1973
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1, Folder 20
Shadow Play: Indonesia's Years of Living Dangerously [unproduced]
undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1, Folder 21
Shirley [unproduced] [1 of 2]
undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1, Folder 22
Shirley [unproduced] [2 of 2]
undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1, Folder 23
The Treasure of the Isle of Mist [unproduced]
undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 2
Series 2. Articles and essays
1969-1997, undated
Physical Description: 2 folders
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically.
Scope and Contents
This series contains published and unpublished articles and essays written by Francovich.
Box 2, Folder 1
Articles and essays [1 of 2]
1967-1997, undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 2, Folder 2
Articles and essays [2 of 2]
1969-1997, undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1
Series 3. Correspondence
1972-1997, undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically.
Scope and Contents
This series contains letters written by and to Francovich, and printed emails among family members.
Box 2, Folder 3
Correspondence
1972-1997, undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 2
Series 4. Personal papers
1962-1997, undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically.
Scope and Contents
This series contains handwritten notes, poems, notebooks, personal inventories, cancelled checks, and a birth certificate.
Box 2, Folder 4
Personal papers
1962-1997, undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 2
Series 5. Interviews and clippings
1981-1997, undated
Physical Description: 1 folders
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically.
Scope and Contents
This series contains interviews with Francovich, general articles on his work, and obituaries.
Box 2, Folder 5
Interviews and clippings
1981-1997, undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 2
Series 6. Materials collected by or about Francovich
1981-1998, undated
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically.
Scope and Contents
This series contains documents written about family, material written by Cuban photographer, Chinolope, catalogs, a Pacific
Film Archive retrospective calendar, and other miscellaneous items.
Box 2, Folder 6
Materials collected by or about Francovich [General] [1 of 2]
1981-1998, undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 2, Folder 7
Materials collected by or about Francovich [Chinolope writings] [2 of 2]
1981-1998, undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 2
Series 7. Photos and audio
1941-1997, undated
Physical Description: 8 folders
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically by film title.
Scope and Contents
This series contains photographs from the filming of
The Houses are Full of Smoke and
On Company Business, as well as miscellaneous personal and tour photographs sorted by decade. There is also an audiocassette tribute to Francovich
from April 1997 narrated by David Ben Areagh. Each folder contains a summary.
Box 2, Folder 8
Photos from The Houses are Full of Smoke
1984
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 2, Folder 9
Photos from On Company Business
approximately 1960s-1970s
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 2, Folder 10
Miscellaneous photos
approximately 1940s
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 2, Folder 11
Miscellaneous photos
approximately 1950s
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 2, Folder 12
Miscellaneous photos
approximately 1960s
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 2, Folder 13
Miscellaneous photos
approximately 1970s
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 2, Folder 14
Miscellaneous photos
1980s-1990s
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 2, Folder 15
"Tribute to a Fallen Leader" [audiocassette]
1997
Physical Description: 1 folderaudiocassette
