Robert Nelson
Born in 1930 to a family of Swedish immigrants, Robert Nelson studied painting until changing his focus to concentrate on filmmaking in the early 1960s. Strong influences included the Bay Area bohemian Beat scene and the improvisatory theatre of the San Francisco Mime Troupe, with which he would ultimately collaborate on several films. His marriage to experimental filmmaker Gunvor Nelson also helped jumpstart his early filmmaking impulse and instigated many films.
The Off-Handed Jape... & How to Pull It Off
as Butch BabadThe Off-Handed Jape is an afternoon’s lark made by Nelson and his artist friend William Wiley....
Movie pageDeep Westurn
as uncreditedA ‘film wake’. Though celebratory in mood, it has a mournful subtext… death and dying. We...
Movie pageRiverbody
as uncreditedA continuous dissolve of 87 male and female nudes. "The film's fascination lies with the...
Movie pageTravelogue: Portraits – Images from a journey
as uncreditedA black-and-white travel journal, in which the themes of memories and their relationship to the...
Movie pageFive Artists: BillBobBillBillBob
as HimselfA feature-length documentary directed by Dorothy Wiley and Gunvor Nelson about five working San...
Movie page