Les Blank, the award-winning American director, producer and cinematographer who died in April will be honored by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with a “New York salute.” The commemoration to honor Blank, ‘known for his portraits of American musicians and his unique ability to capture culture through film’, will kick off at the Academy Theater on July 30, with screenings of restored 16mm film prints from the Academy Film Archive.

The Academy is partnering with the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s BAMcinématek and Museum of the Moving Image in Queens on August 1 and August 2 for screenings to further honor Blank’s work. A concluding program at UnionDocs on August 4 will feature a restored print of Blank’s classic work Burden of Dreams as well as a 16mm print of Stoney Knows How (directed by Pacho Lane with cinematography from Les Blank) . The programs will be hosted and attended by Academy Film Archive preservationist Mark Toscano and Harrod Blank, the son of Les Blank.