185: Paul Cronin on Columbia 1968

Pure Nonfiction: Inside Documentary Film

Paul Cronin has spent years creating a massive oral history about the Columbia University student uprising in 1968. The work titled "A Time to Stir" was first presented publicly in 2008 as a four rough cut at the Toronto International Film Festival. Village Voice critic Scott Foundas wrote that it was "the most vital movie" of that year's festival. Ultimately, Paul recorded over 700 interviews that he compiled into a 10-part project that has a length of 15 hours. You can watch it for free on his Vimeo page.

Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviewed Paul this month, a few days after Columbia University called in police again to quell student protests. Suddenly, Paul's research has a new currency as people seek comparisons between campus protests in 1968 and 2024.

For more about Paul's work, including his projects on Werner Herzog, Abbas Kiarostami, Haskell Wexler, Amos Vogel and Peter Whitehead, see his website thestickingplace.com

On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1