Bill Miles
| Bill Miles | |
|---|---|
| Born |
William Miles April 18, 1931 Harlem, New York, U.S. |
| Died | May 12, 2013 (aged 82) Queens, New York |
William Miles (April 18, 1931 - May 12, 2013) was an American filmmaker. Born in Harlem, New York, he used his deep knowledge and experience of that borough to produce films that tell unique and often inspiring stories of Harlem's history. Based at Thirteen/WNET in New York City, William Miles produced many films dedicated to the African-American experience that have been broadcast nationwide.
Miles' interest in creating historical documentaries was nurtured through 25 years of restoring archival films and early feature classics for Killiam Shows, Inc. and the Walter Reade Organization in New York City.
Miles' film archive is held by the Washington University Film & Media Archive[2]. in St. Louis, Missouri. In addition to Miles' films, the collection contains all of the elements that went into the production process such as interviews, stock footage, photographs, research, producer notes, scripts, and Miles' personal papers.
Miles' breakthrough film was Men of Bronze, which opened at the New York Film Festival in 1977 and was later broadcast on PBS. This film tells the story of the black American soldiers of the 369th Infantry Regiment, known as the Harlem Hellfighters, who, because of segregation in the U.S. Army, fought under the French flag in World War I. The regiment spent more time in the front-line trenches that any other American unit, fighting alongside French, Moroccan, and Senegalese soldiers.
His best-known work, the four-part series I Remember Harlem (1981), is a comprehensive look at this famous borough's diverse history. Beginning in the 17th century and going up to the early 1980s, the film chronicles the changes in Harlem. The program's episodes include segments on Harlem's early history and settlement, the Harlem Renaissance, the Great Depression in Harlem, the Civil Rights Movement and political activism in the era of Malcolm X, and the problems and redevelopment of the '70s.
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