--- title: Rory Kennedy Remembers Documentary Pioneer D.A. Pennebaker description: D.A. Pennebaker, who died on Aug. 1 at 94, made monumental contributions to the field of documentary filmmaking. canonical: https://time.com/5647327/rory-kennedy-d-a-pennebaker-remembrance/ author: Rory Kennedy article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-08-08T09:40:45.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T00:11:35.899Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Rory Kennedy Remembers Documentary Pioneer D.A. Pennebaker og:description: D.A. Pennebaker died on Aug. 1 at 94 og:url: https://time.com/5647327/rory-kennedy-d-a-pennebaker-remembrance/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt42f9b9dd38f39dba/698a0118b3fce35a270c5592/rory-kennedy-d-a-pennebaker-remembrance-social.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2400 og:image:height: 1350 og:image:alt: rory-kennedy-d-a-pennebaker-remembrance og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Rory Kennedy Remembers Documentary Pioneer D.A. Pennebaker twitter:description: D.A. Pennebaker died on Aug. 1 at 94 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt42f9b9dd38f39dba/698a0118b3fce35a270c5592/rory-kennedy-d-a-pennebaker-remembrance-social.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Rory Kennedy Remembers Documentary Pioneer D.A. Pennebaker > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=76f3e8e9-bfea-457d-9bca-8e015197e5ea&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) by [Rory Kennedy](https://time.com/author/rory-kennedy/) ## Rory Kennedy Aug 8, 2019 9:40 AM UTC  Pennebaker in 1967, the year his film Dont Look Back was released. Pennebaker in 1967, the year his film Dont Look Back was released. Everett Collection by [Rory Kennedy](https://time.com/author/rory-kennedy/) ## Rory Kennedy Aug 8, 2019 9:40 AM UTC D.A. Pennebaker, who died on Aug. 1 at 94, made monumental contributions to the field of documentary filmmaking. My own gratitude for his work is personal as well as professional: his free-moving camera captured not only our nation’s history, but also my family’s. Early in his career, he was part of the team that made Primary, which documented my uncle John F. Kennedy’s and his opponent Hubert Humphrey’s presidential campaigns over five days during the 1960 Wisconsin Democratic primary. Using the newly developed sync sound camera, Penny moved with his subjects in real time. A few years later, in Crisis, he helped chronicle President Kennedy and my father, then Attorney General Robert Kennedy, battling with Governor George Wallace over school desegregation. A truly groundbreaking artist, Penny carved a new road for future cinema verité directors and created innovative narrative structures now ubiquitous in cinema and television. I will always treasure my friendship with him and with his wife, partner and fellow documentarian Chris Hegedus. 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