Carolyn Pfeiffer

Carolyn Pfeiffer’s life reads like a movie script. In her early twenties, she moved to Rome and entered the Italian film industry, working with Claudia Cardinale and socializing with leading figures, including screenwriter Suso Cecchi d'Amico and director Luchino Visconti. After moving to Paris, she worked with Alain Delon, then served as Omar Sharif's assistant during his time on Doctor Zhivago. Her next venture, in London, saw her establish her own PR firm and represent a variety of acts, including The Beatles.

The papers in this collection document the work of her production companies, Island Alive and Alive Films — leaders in the production and distribution of independent films in the 1980s. She oversaw the release of, among others, Koyaanisqatsi, Betty Blue, and Marlene.

Pfeiffer also produced several films for filmmaker Alan Rudolph, including Choose Me, Trouble in Mind, and The Moderns. She worked with Sam Shepherd on Far North and Silent Tongue and with Lindsay Anderson on The Whales of August, among other films. 

The collection includes agreements, contracts, scripts, and photographs. It also includes documents from later production companies such as Burnt Orange Productions, as well as the Los Angeles Film School and the Film Initiative at the University of Texas at Austin.

Finding aid to come.