In David Hoffman's long film career, he's made documentaries on everything from Amelia Earhardt to B.B. King, from double-dutch jump-roping to F-15 fighter pilots. Lately he's been fascinated with the early space program and our mania for all things Sputnik.
Why you should listen to him:
Documentary filmmaker David Hoffman has been capturing reality for almost 4 decades, following his wide-ranging interests and turning them into films for PBS, The Discovery Channel, A&E, National Geographic. Highlights from his career include the groundbreaking experimental doc King, Murray, which blurred boundaries between truth and fiction as it tracks its subject through a debauched weekend in Las Vegas; A Day With Filmmaker Timmy Page, about a 12-year-old auteur; and his series of films on American indigenous music.
Lately, he has become fascinated with the Atomic-era Space Race, turning out a feature-length documentary about the Sputnik era. Sputnik Mania was scored by Thomas Dolby and has played at festivals and theaters around the country.
Hoffman suffered a devastating setback in early 2008 when, nine days before TED2008, his home, containing a vast archive from his long and fascinating career, burnt to the ground. His next project: to reframe his life and rebuild.
"I have often tried to understand how David does what he does. After observation, it becomes glaringly simple. He listens! I mean; he really listens, to people and situations."Alberto Aquino Alejandro, co-founder, Helio Solutions Inc.
Blog Posts on TED
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Browse an archive of science advice to Congress – July 25, 2008
Nonpartisan science advice in the US Congress? A newly opened online archive shows that it was possible -- and stimulates a call to re-open the Office of Technology Assessment as an advisor to Congress. The OTA's archive of 700+ scientific reports on topics ranging from addiction to terrorism to "personal rapid transit" spans the lifetime of the Office of Technology Assessment, which advised the US Congress on science and technology questions from 1972 to 1995. The archive has been put online by the Federation of American Scientists, and makes for fascinating browsing. It's often difficult to separate science from politics. The 2006 book The Jasons: The Secret History of Science's Postwar Elite, by Ann Finkbeiner, discusses the legendary summer institute where some of the most distinguished scientists in postwar America, including Freeman Dyson (watch his TEDTalk) and Murray Gell-Mann (watch his TEDTalk), kicked around the biggest questions. It's a fascinating look at the complicated Sputnik-era collision between science and government.
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On losing everything: David Hoffman on TED.com – July 9, 2008
Nine days before TED2008, filmmaker David Hoffman lost almost everything he owned in a fire that destroyed his home, office, and 30 years of passionate collecting. He looks back at a life that's been wiped clean in an instant -- and looks forward. (Recorded February 2008 in Monterey, California. Duration: 4:06.)
Watch David Hoffman's 2008 talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances.
Read more about David Hoffman on TED.com.
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