Screens with Feature Film
21 mins | 2024
Olympia Stone
Under the Hat: The Complicated History of the Pith Helmet
Collector Douglas Zinn has been on a relentless quest to explore the pith helmet’s convoluted past. Under the Hat is your guide through the winding alleys of history, dissecting this compelling artifact and unmasking layers of its ominous implications.
About
What becomes of the relics that haunt our collective consciousness? From the not-so-long-ago confederate monuments to the chilling remnants of Nazi memorabilia. Among these charged artifacts stands the pith helmet, emblematic of colonial brutality, an icon shrouded in a complex and disturbing past.
For over four decades, collector Douglas Zinn has been on a relentless quest, navigating a jungle of tropical sun hats - from the notorious pith helmet to all other types (such as the salakot and the topee). His triumph? A collection boasting over 450 of these historical cover-ups, along with a trove of ephemera: posters, toys, and stamps. In short, he has become a connoisseur; and along the way, he has ordered up some controversy, too.
Zinn admits, the pith helmet itself is a paradox – an unsettling history rolled into a charming design that found its way to every corner of the globe. The documentary, “Under the Hat: The Complicated History of the Pith Helmet” offers a deep-dive exploration into the pith helmet’s convoluted past, and Zinn's own struggle as he grapples with the dark side of his collection.
Under the Hat... is your guide through the winding alleys of history, dissecting this compelling artifact and unmasking layers of its ominous implications. This is a story to unearth - because history, no matter how grisly, demands to be acknowledged.
FILMMAKER BIO
Olympia Stone
Olympia Stone is a filmmaker whose documentaries have been showcased nationally on public television and have won numerous festival awards. Olympia’s films probe the motivations and personal histories of extraordinary artists as a way of providing insight into their work.
“Under the Hat: The Complicated History of the Pith Helmet” is Olympia’s ninth film. “Aldwyth: Fully Assembled” was broadcast on American Public Television in 2022. Her other films include portraits of Richard Estes, Elizabeth King, James Grashow, and David Beck. Olympia’s first film, “The Collector: Allan Stone’s Life in Art” (2007), chronicles the obsessive collecting of her father, a New York art world gallerist whose habits and prescient scouting shaped his life and the lives of many in his artfully cluttered orbit.
CREDITS
Director
Olympia Stone
Aldwyth: Fully Assembled, Actually Iconic: Richard Estes, The Original Richard McMahan, Curious Worlds: The Art & Imagination of David Beck
Writer
Jody Becker
Autistic-Like: Graham's Story, Aldwyth: Fully Assembled, Actually Iconic: Richard Estes, The Original Richard McMahan, Curious Worlds: The Art & Imagination of David Beck
Producer
Olympia Stone
Videographer
Simone Keith
The Original Richard McMahan, Double Take: The Art of Elizabeth King
Music Composer
Fred Story