--HELEN KELLER

The New England Chapter of The Explorers Club is very pleased to announce a very special presentation and screening to be held on Tuesday December 5th, when we welcome Boston-based filmmaker and man of letters Herb Golder, who has enjoyed a long-standing mentoring relationship with the internationally acclaimed German filmmaker Werner Herzog. In describing Herzog, Herb writes: “Where to begin? Legendary is the adjective always used. Certainly one of the greatest and most important living filmmakers, with more than 50 films, exploring, in different ways, man at those extreme limits of his condition where, in extremis and under pressure, his essential nature is most nakedly revealed.” Many might be familiar with Herzog through his film Aguirre, Wrath of God, the story of an ill-fated conquistador searching for the lost city of El Dorado, played memorably by the German actor Klaus Kinski. More information about Herzog and his work can be seen at http://www.wernerherzog.com/main/index.htm.

Herb has collaborated with Herzog on nine films over the past decade- the most recent include Rescue Dawn (2006), The Wild Blue Yonder (2005), and The White Diamond (2004)- primarily serving as Co-writer and Assistant Director. This evening Herb has agreed to provide us with a screening and insights into the film Wings of Hope, one of two films he made with Herzog in Amazonia in 1998. The story of a sole survivor of a plane crash in the Amazon in 1972, it is a remarkable tale of a young woman who was ejected from a crashing plane at two miles altitude, survived the fall, and then walked eleven days to find her way out of the deepest and remotest jungle. The film was made entirely where it happened, with the filmmakers uncovering pieces of the plane spread over an area of 15 sq. kilometers.

When not filmmaking with Herzog, Herb serves as Professor of Classical Studies at Boston University. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the award-winning journal Arion, A Journal of Humanities and the Classics (for which he’s received the Phoenix Award for Significant Editorial Achievement from the Council of Editors of Learned Journals, and the Scholarly Outreach Award from the American Philological Association). Herb was also General Editor of the Greek Tragedy in New Translations series (23 volumes, published by Oxford University Press) and is the author of numerous works on classical and other literatures, as well as translations of Greek drama and poetry, and works on film. His most recent book is a translation of Euripides' Bacchae (Applause 2001). This evening will feature a short introduction and talk by Herb, followed by the screening of the 70-minute film, and further Q&A and discussion.

Sincerely,

Mark Allio

Program Chairman