Tom Davenport (filmmaker)

Tom Davenport (born June 13, 1939) is an independent filmmaker and film distributor who has worked for decades documenting American life and exploring folklore.

Currently based in Delaplane, Virginia,[1] he is the founder and project director for Folkstreams, a website that houses independent documentary films about American folk roots and cultures.

[9] Davenport collaborated with the University of North Carolina Curriculum in Folklore and folklorist Daniel Patterson to direct and produce a series of documentaries on folklife in Appalachia and rural America, including Born for Hard Luck (1976), Being a Joines: A Life in the Brushy Mountains (1980), A Singing Stream: A Black Family Chronicle (1986), The Ballad of Frankie Silver (1998), and When My Work Is Over: The Life and Stories of Louise Anderson (1998).

"[12] A non-profit organization, Folkstreams aims "to build a national preserve of hard-to-find documentary films about American folk or roots cultures.... [and] to give them renewed life by streaming them on the internet.

"[12] The site features the work of independent filmmakers from the 1960s and later—including Alan Lomax, Pete Seeger, Les Blank, Davenport, and others[13]—focusing on films that document and preserve the culture and folklife of various American regions and communities.

Folkstreams also features explanatory material alongside the films, providing cultural, historical, and artistic context and significance as a means to educate the public.

[14] This award recognizes individuals "who have made significant contributions to the preservation and encouragement of folk traditions in the United States ... and [have] advanced the mission of public folklore.