Shirley Clarke

A former dancer, choreographer and head of the National Dance Association, Shirley Clarke began making short films in 1953 with the seven-minute "Dance in the Sun." She then went on to make a series of short films about dance including "In Paris Parks" (1954) and "Bullfight" (1955). By the time she made "A Moment in Love" (1957), Clarke had begun to explore movement as a means of communicating story. "Skyscraper" (1959) traced the construction of a building, used color and black-and-white shots and was made in collaboration with Willard Van Dyke and Irving Jacoby. The film, which Clarke characterized as "a musical comedy about the building of a skyscraper" won several festival prizes and earned a 1959 Oscar nomination for Best Live Action Short Subject. earned an Oscar nomination.