Donald Stuart Berman (1930-2015) was a Massachusetts-based filmmaker who created short experimental, educational and documentary films in and around the Boston area. He is known for his experimental film, Go Go Citgo (1968), a profile of the iconic Citgo sign in Boston’s Kenmore Square accompanied by a rock and roll soundtrack featuring a collage of songs by the Monkees, the Rolling Stones and Indian sitarist, Ravi Shankar.

Active in the Boston filmmaking scene, Berman specialized in motion picture and sound recording—specifically educational, documentary and training films—and worked in several production studios in the Boston area while composing his own 16mm experimental works. Berman shared his technical expertise through educational and community efforts, teaching and lecturing at Emerson College, the Cambridge Center for Adult Education in Cambridge, the DeCordova Museum in Lincoln and Simmons College in Boston. His later efforts in video and public access media led to his work in overseeing the design and construction of a community access television facility in Beverly, Massachusetts, where he also served as the founding president of the Beverly Cable & Telecommunications Corporation (BevCam).

About The Collection

Titles in the Donald Berman Collection include his short films No. 49, Concert in Diverse Motion, Go Go Citgo, Swimwear and Bells for John Whiteside’s Daughter. Donated to the Harvard Film Archive in 2015, this collection includes 16mm prints, as well as some original and pre-print materials.