 ross mcelwee is an american documentary filmmaker known for his autobiographical films about his family and personal life, usually interwoven with an episodic journey that intersects with larger political or philosophical issues. cultural aspects of his southern upbringing are present in his humorous and often self-deprecating films. he received the career award at the 2007 full frame documentary film festival. ==early life and education== ross mcelwee grew up in charlotte, north carolina, in a traditional southern family. his father was a respected surgeon, and appears often as a character in mcelwee's early films. from an early age mcelwee nurtured an interest in writing. he later attended brown university, where he studied under novelist john hawkes, and graduated in 1971 with a degree in creative writing. but while at brown, he also cross-registered in still photography courses at rhode island school of design. after graduating, mcelwee lived for a year in brittany, france and worked for a while as a wedding photographer's assistant. upon returning to the us, he was admitted into mit's new graduate filmmaking program, and graduated in 1977 with an m.s. while at mit, he studied under documentarians richard leacock and ed pincus, both pioneers of the cinÃ©ma vÃ©ritÃ© movement, with whom he refined his first person narrative approach. "it was a new way of making films, to eliminate the film crew. you lose some technical polish, but it's much more intimate and less intimidating to your subjects. it allows you to shoot with the autonomy and flexibility of a photojournalist."ken gewertz. "the world according to mcelwee: a documentary filmmaker's unique personal vision" by ken gewertz, harvard news office, harvard gazette, apr 21, 2005. ==career== mcelwee's film career began in his hometown of charlotte, north carolina where he found summer employment as a studio cameraman for local evening news, housewife helper shows, and "gospel hour" programs. later, he freelanced, as second cameraman for documentarians d.a. pennebaker, and
1947_births American_documentary_filmmakers Brown_University_alumni Documentary_film_directors Harvard_University_faculty Living_people Massachusetts_Institute_of_Technology_alumni People_from_Charlotte,_North_Carolina