MY FATHER THE GENIUS

Director: Lucia Small

Cast: Glen Howard Small, Lucia Small, Greg Davis, John Harris, (voice of) Frank Lloyd Wright

Country: U.S.
Year: 2002
Running Time: 82 min
Format: Beta SP

Architect Glen Small is a legend in his own mind, a man whose ego has swelled to such dimensions that to say it became a "superego" would be an understatement.

At 61, Glen Small decided it was time to claim the legacy he believes was rightfully his. To document his life's work, he contacted long estranged daughter Lucia, the middle of three girls from his first marriage, to write his memoirs.

Lucia responded by making a film. Instead of making a professional biography, Lucia weaves her personal family story with that of a half-crazed visionary. Though perhaps not what he had in mind, My Father, the Genius manages to make a convincing case for Glen Small's radical, environmentally friendly designs-a Biomorphic Biosphere, Turf Town, the Green Machine, to name a few--while at the same time showing how Mr. Small's confrontational attitude, stubbornness, and indifference to professional protocol may have ultimately doomed him to obscurity. And how his professional ambitions made a shambles of his personal, family relationships.

My Father, the Genius is a rare breed of personal documentary: immensely entertaining, informative, and full of revelations about life, ambition, family, and consequences.

--Gabriel Wardell

Presented By: Lucia Small and Linda Morgenstern

Lucia Small has been an independent filmmaker for over nine years, most recently working as Assistant Director on Murder at Harvard for PBS's American Experience. She has produced several PBS series as well as working for USA Cable, C-SPAN, Media One, and various feature films. My Father, The Genius is her directorial debut for a full-length program.

Co-producer Linda Morgenstern is a former Vice President of television production at Ogilvy and Mather, N.Y. She has worked on independently produced programming for WNET, PBS, and HBO. She is currently developing a documentary series on Motherhood with her film partner at their own Postpartum Productions.