National Archives Presents Program and Screening of -Moana With Sound- January 14
Press Release · Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Washington, DC

On Wednesday, January 14, at 7 p.m., the National Archives presents a special screening of Moana with Sound, a revised version of the 1926 documentary Moana. The program is free and open to the public and will be held in the William G. McGowan Theater of the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. Attendees should use the Special Events entrance on Constitution Avenue at 7^th Street, NW. This event is presented in partnership with the National Gallery of Art.

In 1924, documentary film pioneer Robert Flaherty and his family traveled to the Savai'i island in Polynesia to record the native life and make a film, Moana, that he hoped would match the success of his 1922 silent documentary Nanook of the North. Flaherty’s then-3-year-old daughter Monica returned to that island more than 50 years later to record local ambient sounds and traditional songs to create a soundtrack for her parents’ silent film. The revised film, Moana with Sound (98 minutes), premiered in Paris in 1981.

Independent curator Bruce Posner will introduce the screening. Posner and filmmaker Sami van Ingen, a great-grandson of Robert Flaherty, recently digitally restored the film using Monica Flaherty’s recordings and synced them to a new 2K element, created from the best surviving 35mm materials.

The National Archives Museum is located on the National Mall on Constitution Avenue at 9th Street, NW. Metro accessible on Yellow or Green lines, Archives/Navy Memorial station. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., daily. Free admission. Additional information on exhibits and programs at the National Archives Museum can be found online.

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For press information contact the National Archives Public Affairs staff at 202-357-5300.

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