Bonnie Rowan

Archival Researcher

My Underground Mother

With a graduate degree in film, Bonnie Rowan came from Wisconsin to work for the U.S. Information Agency but was soon teaching film studies and production as an Assistant Professor at Towson University in Baltimore. She wrote two books describing media resources in the Washington area. Then began an almost 40 year career as a professional on-site media researcher specializing in the vast and often rights-free collections of film and photos at the National Archives and Library of Congress. Rowan has research credits on over 500 productions including several Oscar and Emmy nominees. She was nominated for an Emmy in Research for RAPE OF EUROPA and MINE WARS. Past projects range from BETTY PAGE REVEALS ALL to AMERICAN REDS to SALINGER. Current projects include WWII in the Philippines and statehood for Washington DC.

Related Events

The People’s Archive: What’s In It, How to Use It

A conversation on the vast public record housed right here in Washington — historical photographs, civic documents, and primary sources anyone can access, often for free — and what it actually takes to turn an archive into a film. Lisa Warwick, the DC Public Library’s People’s Archivist, is joined by Marisa Fox, director of Double Exposure’s Closing Night film, My Underground Mother, and Bonnie Rowan, the archival researcher who helped...