Underground Film Journal

Robert Nelson

Robert Nelson was an American underground filmmaker based in San Francisco. His films were distinctive for their prankish sense of humor.

He passed away in January 2012.

Filmography

King David (1970/2003) (with Mike Henderson)
Special Warning (1998)
Limitations (1988)
Hamlet Act (1982)
Deep Westurn (1974)
Bleu Shut (1970)
War Is Hell (1968)
The Awful Backlash (1967)
The Great Blondino (1967) (with William T. Wiley)
Hot Leatherette (1967)
The Off-Handed Jape (1967) (with William T. Wiley)
Penny Bright and Jimmy Witherspoon (1967)
Confessions of a Black Mother Succuba (1965)
Oh Dem Watermelons (1965)
Plastic Haircut (1963)

Articles:

Canyon Cinema Cooperative: Catalogue Number One

In December 1966, the Canyon Cinema Cooperative in San Francisco, California published their first Catalogue of experimental and avant-garde films to rent. This was four years after the Film-Makers’ Cooperative had begun distributing underground films in New York City.

Experimental Film Coalition: The Monthly Screenings

This is Part Two in a series about Chicago’s Experimental Film Coalition; and covers their screening series. Formed in 1983, the Experimental Film Coalition started holding regular monthly screenings starting in 1984. The screenings brought to Chicago the work of independent, experimental filmmakers across the country, as well as screening local work.

Robert Nelson, R.I.P.

West coast based underground filmmaker Robert Nelson, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer within the past year, passed away this week. He was 81 years old.