Finnish filmmaker and artist Sami van Ingen is a great-grandson of documentary pioneer Robert Flaherty, and seemingly the sole member of the family with a hands-on interest in continuing the directing legacy. Among the materials he found in the estate of Robert and Frances Flaherty’s daughter Monica were the film reels and video tapes detailing several years of work on realising her lifelong dream project: a sound version of her parents’ 1926 docu-fiction axiom, Moana: A Romance of the Golden Age.
Frances Hubbard Flaherty (December 5, 1883 – June 22, 1972) was a film writer and director known for Louisiana Story, The Land, and Moana (1926). In 1955, Flaherty founded The Flaherty Seminar, a film study center for filmmakers, curators, and students.