George Paul Csicsery (born March 17, 1948) is a Hungarian-American writer and independent filmmaker who has directed 35 films including performance films, dramatic shorts and documentaries. He is best known for his documentaries about mathematicians and mathematical communities.[1]

George Csicsery
BornMarch 17, 1948
EducationUC Berkeley (BA)
San Francisco State University (MFA)
Occupations
  • filmmaker
  • producer
  • writer
Known forN is a Number and other documentary films
Websitezalafilms.com

Life and career

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George Csicsery was born in Regensburg, Germany to Hungarian parents who had fled their native country after WWII (his father was a monarchist army officer).[1] In 1951, the family emigrated to Cleveland, Ohio. After a series of menial jobs his father became a successful stained glass and enamel artist and his mother became head of the slide library at the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA), and assistant to renowned Asian art historian, Sherman Lee.

George obtained a BA in Comparative Religion from UC Berkeley (1969), and an MFA in Film Production from San Francisco State University (1972).[1]

He taught film editing at Film Arts Foundation in San Francisco from 1982 to 1997, and general cinema courses to undergraduates at San Francisco State University in 1996 and at UC Davis in 1998.[2]

He once said, "I am interested in people who can find happiness in creating their own world. That is true of mathematicians and romance writers. These people are creating universes different from where they live."[2] In 2009 he received the Joint Policy Board for Mathematics (JPBM) Communications Award for his work showing the process of mathematical thinking through the medium of film.[3]

Csicsery has written about the difficulties of being a displaced person after WWII, and about his two brothers−one of whom fought in the Hungarian Revolution.[4]

Reception

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Writing in Nature Magazine Davide Castelvecchi said, "Csicsery has carved a niche as a maker of compelling films about mathematicians".[5] Beginning in March 2022, as part of the celebration of Women's History Month, Secrets of the Surface: The Mathematical Vision of Maryam Mirzakhani will be shown on more than 300 PBS stations.[6]

Filmography

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Films about mathematicians and mathematics

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Much of Csicsery's work since the early 1990s has been about eminent mathematicians or the mathematics community in general. These include:

He worked with Scott Kim and Karl Schaffer to produce a series of films about string polyhedra and other recreational math topics.[20]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Zala Films Official site for films by George Csicsery
  2. ^ a b Math Films, Yes - But So Much More by Doniphan Blair, Cinesource Magazine, Oct 31, 2020
  3. ^ 2009 Communications Award JPBM
  4. ^ George Csicsery, Displaced Person Vimeo interview in 2015
  5. ^ Castelvecchi, Davide (2020). "Stirring biopic of the first woman to win top maths prize". Nature. 582 (7811): 176–177. Bibcode:2020Natur.582..176C. doi:10.1038/d41586-020-01681-2. S2CID 256819074.
  6. ^ Upcoming catalog American Public Television (APT)
  7. ^ Songs Along A Stony Road on IMdB
  8. ^ The Thursday Club on IMdB
  9. ^ Hungry for Monsters on IMdB
  10. ^ Where the Heart Roams on IMdB
  11. ^ Hookers on IMdB
  12. ^ Secrets of the Surface: The Mathematical Vision of Maryam Mirzakhani on IMdB
  13. ^ Navajo Math Circles on IMdB
  14. ^ Counting from Infinity: Yitang Zhang and the Twin Prime Conjecture on IMdB
  15. ^ Taking the Long View: The Life of Shiing-shen Chern on IMdB
  16. ^ I Want to Be a Mathematician on IMdB
  17. ^ Julia Robinson and Hilbert's Tenth Problem on IMdB
  18. ^ Hard Problems: The Road to the World's Toughest Math Contest on IMdB
  19. ^ N Is a Number: A Portrait of Paul Erdös on IMdB
  20. ^ A series of short films by George Csicsery on string polyhedra and related work mathdance.org
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