Robert Epstein

Rob Epstein was a full professor at California College of the Arts for twenty years, where he co-founded the MFA Film Program, served as co-chair of the Film Program, and is now professor emeritus. He has also been a visiting professor in the Graduate Film Program at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. He has served on the Board of Trustees of the Sundance Institute and BAMPFA, as well as three terms on the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences representing the Documentary Branch. Rob was recently awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from California College of the Arts. Over the years, Rob and collaborator Jeffrey Friedman have amassed hundreds of hours of archival material: pre-interviews, outtakes, and other never-before-seen footage. Together, these materials constitute a significant historical record, tracing the evolution of LGBTQ+ identities from the 1970s to the present. They document pivotal events, including the election and assassination of Harvey Milk and the AIDS epidemic—moments that galvanized the queer community and shaped its identity. Among the videotaped pre-interviews are many individuals from the so-called “lost generation”—the cohort of gay men decimated by AIDS who would have been mentors to today’s young queer generation.

During their residency at the Bogliasco Center, Rob and Jeffrey will begin developing a long-simmering idea: a film or installation project that revisits and reimagines our archival collection, titled Outtakes.