Vogel, Amos, 1921-2012

Independent film in New York City has had several champions throughout its lifetime; one of the most vocal and committed being film critic and historian, Amos Vogel. Vogel, with his wife Marcia, has spent a lifetime promoting independent film and filmmakers, first through their non-profit membership organization, Cinema 16, and later as director of the New York Film Festival under the umbrella of Lincoln Center.

Amos Vogel (neé Vogelbaum) was born in Vienna Austria, on April 18, 1921. His mother, Matel, was a kindergarten teacher and his father, Samuel, a lawyer. According to an interview by Scott MacDonald, Vogel had always shown an interest in the cinema, frequenting many screenings and was a member of a large film society in Vienna. He was forced to emigrate during the Anschluss and fled to Cuba with his mother. After a short period in detention, Vogel was able to enter the United States settling in New York in 1939. He received a B.A. in Political Science and Economics at the New School for Social Research in 1949. During his time as an undergraduate, Vogel married Marcia Diener. It was also at this time that Vogel became aware of the abundance of 16 mm film that existed, but were not being shown to the public, mainly because of cost. These were not avant-garde film, but films that could be considered nonfiction, e.g. educational films, documentaries.

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