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In search of truth (and fun) at Princeton University, 1973

Winner of the Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject) in 1974, A Search for Answers immerses viewers in campus life at Princeton University in New Jersey, focusing on the pursuit of knowledge in all its forms. The US directors DeWitt L Sage Jr and Julian Krainin move between orientations for new students, extracurriculars and classes on acting, cosmology, music and more to form a panoramic, eclectic portrait of the Ivy League university. Commissioned as a recruitment project, the film offers a sunny and sanitised portrait of an American campus in the 1970s, to be sure: charismatic, engaging professors and charmingly curious students abound. But through this lens, something rather fascinating emerges: an argument for the university as an ideal setting for the pursuit of knowledge, and a liberal arts education as the best framework for cultivating it.

Directors: DeWitt L Sage Jr, Julian Krainin

Website: Princeton University

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