Behind the spotlight on this year’s Oscar nominees for best feature documentary is a soft-spoken and camera-shy film professor at Harvard who taught three of the directors in the 1990s, encouraging their work and inspiring them to greatness.
Rob Moss, who has taught at Harvard for 25 years, says he’s not surprised that Jehane Noujaim, Joshua Oppenheimer and Richard Rowley, all 39, have achieved individual acclaim. All three credit Moss with helping them develop their vision.
Noujaim, who graduated with Oppenheimer in 1997, directed The Square, a detailed depiction of the Egyptian revolution from start to finish. She won the Directors Guild of America award in late January for The Square, which could foreshadow an edge for her because in the last five years, four of the DGA-winning films for best feature documentary also won the Oscar in that category that year.
Noujaim, who was originally in the pre-medical program at Harvard, said professors like Moss – whom she considers to be a life-long friend and mentor – developed her passion for film and influenced her decision to switch fields.
The Oscars, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, is held March 2
* AP