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Susan Hamovitch Recordings

A description of the collection at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: Michele Combs
Date: 17 Jan 2025

Biographical History

Susan Hamovitch is an independent filmmaker, producer, and director based in Brooklyn, New York. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Chicago and a Master of Fine Arts in Television and Radio from Brooklyn College. Films she directed include Without Apology, a film about her brother with developmental disabilities, and Stood for the Storm, a film about a woman’s experience as a New Orleans native following Hurricane Katrina. Her films are released through her own production company, One-EyedCat Productions. She has taught classes at The New School’s documentary studies program in New York City and contributed to publications such as the Museum of Broadcast Communications’ Encyclopedia of Television.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Susan Hamovitch Recordings consists of video and audio recordings related to the film Without Apology (2004), a documentary about Hamovitch's brother Alan who in 1958 was sent to live in a state-run institution called Letchworth Village, located in the hamlet of Thiells in Rockland County, New York. The film explores the closure of Letchworth Village and the process of Hamovitch and her family reconciling their relationship with Alan. For the film, Hamovitch interviewed family members and former staff and residents of Letchworth Village. Notable interviewees include University of Southern California Dean of Social Work Maurice Hamovitch (Susan Hamovitch's uncle), professor and filmmaker Melinda C. Levin, Queens College professor William (Bill) Hamovitch (Susan Hamovitch's father), paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould, academic Wolf Wolfensberger, and New York State sports director for the Special Olympics Charles “Bones” Jones, Jr. Hamovitch also interviews members of organizations such as the Welfare League of New York, which supported Letchworth Village, and Rights, Equality at Letchworth (REAL), which advocated for Letchworth's closure.

Audiovisual recordings contains field recordings, including interviews, establishing shots, b-roll footage, and bonus features. About half of the recordings are on 30-minute Betacam: SP tapes, while the other half are on tape formats commonly used for video recording at the time, including MiniDV cassettes, Hi8 cassettes, and DVCAM cassettes. There are a few audio recordings in the collection as well, and those are either on audio cassettes or DAT cassettes. Most of the tapes have Hamovitch's handwritten title or description, as well as an identification number assigned by Hamovitch for tracking purposes. Titles assigned by processing staff are given in square brackets.

Arrangement of the Collection

The collection is arranged in alphabetical order by the title and description written on the item. Hamovitch's original ID numbers are given in parentheses at the end of each item. For example, the first item listed is titled "Alan and father [Bill Hamovitch] (20-a)."

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Access to recordings or computer media requires advance notice to produce a working copy.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

For additional information on the film, including clips, personnel, and reviews, please see the Without Apology website.

Subject Headings

Persons

Hamovitch, Alan.
Hamovitch, Maurice (Maurice B.).
Hamovitch, Susan.
Hamovitch, William.
Lampros, Spiro.
Sinkler, Scott.

Corporate Bodies

New York (State). -- Letchworth Village.
One-Eyedcat Productions.

Subjects

Autism.
Documentary films.
People with disabilities -- Institutional care.
People with disabilities -- United States.
Women motion picture producers and directors.

Places

New York (State)

Genres and Forms

Audiocassettes.
Betacam-SP.
Digital audio tapes.
Hi-8.
Mini-DV.
Sound recordings.
Video recordings (physical artifacts)
Videocassettes.

Occupations

Motion picture producers and directors.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Susan Hamovitch Recordings,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Susan Hamovitch, 2023.

Processing Information

The collection is arranged alphabetically.

Table of Contents

Audiovisual recordings

Inventory