David Hoffman Biography

David Hoffman is one of America's veteran documentary filmmakers. During his 40-year career, he has made four feature-length documentaries including King, Murray; It's All Good; SingSing Thanksgiving with BB King; and Earl Scruggs: His Family & Friends. King, Murray--an experimental feature doc about an insurance salesman who goes to Las Vegas on a junket to gamble with other high rollers--was the winner of the Critics Award at the 1970 Cannes Film Festival, besting several other films, including Easy Rider. Hoffman (see some of his work at www.thehoffmancollection.com) has also made more than 100 primetime documentary television specials and series, mostly for PBS and Turner Broadcasting. Among his most notable projects: the acclaimed 10-part Ten Who Dared, with Anthony Quinn; the landmark 6-part PBS series Making Sense of The Sixties; Turner Broadcasting's Moon Shot, winner of the Peabody Award for best TV series; Four Episodes of The American Experience; and four episodes of NOVA.Many of Hoffman's reality-style films present a view of recent American events and how the American people experienced them. Hoffman is a traditional filmmaker who often functions as director, writer, cameraperson, and film editor. Sputnik Mania was made by three people, Hoffman, his editor John Vincent Barrett, and his producer, 23 year-old Eric Reid.Hoffman's documentaries have received top awards at many major American and international film festivals. Hoffman has made films on subjects as diverse as double-dutch jump roping - Black Magic - (blue ribbon winner at the American Film Festival), the history of naval aviation - Wing over Water (2nd highest rated program of the year on PBS), and Remembering Life (for the 50th anniversary of Life Magazine). Hoffman has founded several startup companies and is currently founder and CEO of Sagas for locally based remote video interviewing (www.sagas.com/interview).Hoffman founded his production company, Varied Directions, 35 years ago and spent much of his career making films in Camden, Maine. Today he lives and works in Santa Cruz, California.