Theodore Dreiser: Marching Alone

FAIN: TS-50047-07

New York Foundation for the Arts, Inc. (Brooklyn, NY 11201-8301)
George Pozderec (Project Director: November 2006 to December 2008)

Scripting of a 90-minute documentary film exploring the life and writings of Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945).

Drawing together new scholarship and rich historical resources (including extensive interviews with Dreiser intimates and never before heard radio and film interviews by Dreiser himself) the documentary is an opportunity to engage the public in an exploration of the man behind such seminal novels as "Sister Carrie," "Jennie Gerhardt," "The Financier" and "An American Tragedy." As the first documentary on Dreiser, this film is envisioned as a way to illuminate Dreiser's life through the exploration of the literary and social impact of his writings. Besides the nature of Dreiser's career, it will explore his groundbreaking inquiries into issues that still resonate with meaning today: poverty and the leisure class in America, the dilemnas of urban life, ethnic conflic, sexual mores, civil liberties in times of war, the dilemnas of modern marriage, censorship, the role of women in contemporary society.