# Kevin Rafferty

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For the Donegal player, see [Kevin Rafferty (Gaelic footballer)](/source/Kevin_Rafferty_(Gaelic_footballer)).

**Kevin Gelshenen Rafferty II** (May 25, 1947 – July 2, 2020) was an American documentary film cinematographer, director, and producer, best known for his 1982 documentary *[The Atomic Cafe](/source/The_Atomic_Cafe)*.[1][2]

## Background

Rafferty was born in Boston on May 25, 1947.[3] He studied architecture at [Harvard](/source/Harvard) and film at the [California Institute of the Arts](/source/California_Institute_of_the_Arts).[4] He helped teach the craft of filmmaking to [Michael Moore](/source/Michael_Moore) during the production of *[Roger & Me](/source/Roger_%26_Me)* in 1989, and Moore has acknowledged Rafferty's influence on his own filmmaking. Rafferty teamed up with his brother Pierce and [Jayne Loader](/source/Jayne_Loader)[5] to produce the [cult classic](/source/Cult_film) documentary film *[The Atomic Cafe](/source/The_Atomic_Cafe)*.[6] He was the director, producer, editor and cinematographer of many documentary projects, including *[Blood in the Face](/source/Blood_in_the_Face)*, *[The War Room](/source/The_War_Room)*, *[Feed](/source/Feed_(1992_film))*, and *The Last Cigarette.*[4][7] His last project was 2009's *[Harvard Beats Yale 29-29](/source/Harvard_Beats_Yale_29-29)*.[8]

Rafferty was a nephew of [Barbara Bush](/source/Barbara_Bush), and a cousin of [George W. Bush](/source/George_W._Bush).[9]

Rafferty died from cancer at his home in Manhattan on July 2, 2020, at age 73.[3]

## Filmography

### As director or producer

- *Hurry Tomorrow* (1975)
- *[The Atomic Cafe](/source/The_Atomic_Cafe)* (1982)
- *[Blood in the Face](/source/Blood_in_the_Face)* (1991)
- *[Feed](/source/Feed_(1992_film))* (1992)
- *The Last Cigarette* (1999)
- *Who Wants to Be President?* (2000)
- *[Harvard Beats Yale 29–29](/source/Harvard_Beats_Yale_29%E2%80%9329)* (2008)

### As cinematographer

- *[Roger & Me](/source/Roger_%26_Me)* (1989)
- *[The War Room](/source/The_War_Room)* (1993)
- *Good Money* (1996)

### As himself

- *[SexTV](/source/SexTV)* (2003) (TV)
- *[Manufacturing Dissent](/source/Manufacturing_Dissent)* (2007)

## Reception

Thom Powers of *Harvardwood* writes that Rafferty is "renowned for his wit and fresh perspectives on American culture".[7] His various films have received positive reception. Of *Hurry Tomorrow*, Rafferty's documentary indictment of a California State psychiatric hospital, Colin Bennet of *[The Age](/source/The_Age)* wrote "Its anger and courage are the kind that lead to reform".[10] Michael Atkinson of *[IFC](/source/Independent_Film_Channel)* calls Rafferty's latest, *Harvard Beats Yale 29-29*, "a hypnotic pleasure,"[8] and *[Fast Company](/source/Fast_Company_(magazine))* calls it an "engrossing documentary" which was "the best sports film we've seen in years",[11] and Manohla Dargis of *[New York Times](/source/New_York_Times)* writes "while it seems absurd to include such a picayune event in the annals, the filmmaker Kevin Rafferty makes the case for remembrance and for the art of the story in his preposterously entertaining documentary *Harvard Beats Yale 29-29*".[12]

*The Atomic Cafe* had received praise as one of the best Cold War movies of all time.[13][14]

### Accolades

- 1991, nomination, Grand Jury Prize for *Blood in the Face* by [Sundance Film Festival](/source/Sundance_Film_Festival)
- 1983, nomination, Flaherty Documentary Award for Best Documentary for *The Atomic Cafe* by [British Academy of Film and Television Arts](/source/British_Academy_of_Film_and_Television_Arts)[15]
- 2016, *[The Atomic Cafe](/source/The_Atomic_Cafe)* selected to the [National Film Registry](/source/National_Film_Registry)[16]

## References

1. ["Kevin Rafferty"](https://web.archive.org/web/20121022081125/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/107401/Kevin-Rafferty/filmography). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. 2012. Archived from [the original](https://movies.nytimes.com/person/107401/Kevin-Rafferty/filmography) on October 22, 2012. Retrieved August 19, 2009.

1. ["Kevin Rafferty credits"](https://web.archive.org/web/20091208163405/http://www.film.com/celebrities/kevin-rafferty/14597882). [Film.com](/source/Film.com). Archived from [the original](http://www.film.com/celebrities/kevin-rafferty/14597882) on December 8, 2009. Retrieved August 20, 2009.

1. Genzlinger, Neil (July 7, 2020). ["Kevin Rafferty, 'Atomic Cafe' Co-Director, Dies at 73"](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/movies/kevin-rafferty-atomic-cafe-dead.html). *The New York Times*. Retrieved July 7, 2020.

1. ["Tie To Win: Kevin Rafferty On 'Harvard Beats Yale'"](https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100411486). [National Public Radio](/source/National_Public_Radio). February 12, 2009. Retrieved August 19, 2009.

1. ["Atomic Cafe" Producers on Late Night, March 10, 1982-Don Giller on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFCyWdu71kw)

1. Wiener, Jon (2007). "The Omniscient Narrator and the Unreliable Narrator: The Case of Atomic Café". *Film & History: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Film and Television Studies*. **37** (1): 73–76. [doi:10.1353/flm.2007.0037](https://doi.org/10.1353/flm.2007.0037). [S2CID 191613600](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:191613600)

1. Powers, Thom (September 5, 2008). ["Harvardwood Heads To..."Harvard Beats Yale 29-29" at Toronto International Film Festival – Toronto"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110726141851/http://www.harvardwood.org/events/event_details.asp?id=29966). *Harvardwood*. Archived from [the original](http://www.harvardwood.org/events/event_details.asp?id=29966) on July 26, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2009.

1. Atkinson, Michael (July 28, 2009). ["A Bell Jar Etude"](https://web.archive.org/web/20090731150857/http://www.ifc.com/news/2009/07/bell-jar-etude.php). [IFC](/source/Independent_Film_Channel). Archived from [the original](http://www.ifc.com/news/2009/07/bell-jar-etude.php) on July 31, 2009. Retrieved August 19, 2009.

1. Goodman, Amy (September 6, 2010). ["Michael Moore on His Life, His Films and His Activism"](http://www.democracynow.org/2010/9/6/michael_moore_on_his_life_his). *[Democracy Now](/source/Democracy_Now)*

1. Bennett, Colin (August 17, 1979). ["Cinema"](https://archive.today/20120713014744/http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zYkQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1JIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4224,441098&dq=kevin-rafferty+documentary). *[The Age](/source/The_Age)*. Archived from [the original](https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zYkQAAAAIBAJ&pg=4224,441098&dq=kevin-rafferty+documentary) on July 13, 2012. Retrieved August 20, 2009.

1. ["What a long, strange game it was"](https://web.archive.org/web/20091204025437/http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/very-short-list/very-short-list/under-pressure-what-long-strange-game-it-was-feng-shui-goes-out). *[Fast Company](/source/Fast_Company_(magazine))*. Archived from [the original](http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/very-short-list/very-short-list/under-pressure-what-long-strange-game-it-was-feng-shui-goes-out) on December 4, 2009. Retrieved August 19, 2009.

1. Dargis, Manohla (November 16, 2008). ["Back in 1968, When a Tie Was No Tie"](https://movies.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/movies/19harv.html). *New York Times*. Retrieved August 20, 2009.

1. [The 25 Best Movies About The Cold War ≪ Taste of Cinema ≪ Movie Reviews and Classic Movie Lists](http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2016/the-25-best-movies-about-the-cold-war/2/)

1. [The Atomic Cafe·Senses of Cinema](http://sensesofcinema.com/2004/cteq/atomic_cafe/)

1. ["Robert Flaherty Award"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110110050630/http://www.bafta.org/awards/film/nominations/?year=1982). [British Academy of Film and Television Arts](/source/British_Academy_of_Film_and_Television_Arts). Archived from [the original](http://www.bafta.org/awards/film/nominations/?year=1982) on January 10, 2011. Retrieved August 20, 2009.

1. ["The Atomic Café" - 2016 additions to the National Film Registry - Pictures - CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/national-film-registry-additions-2016/3/)

## External links

- [Kevin Rafferty](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0706268/) at IMDb
- [Kevin Rafferty](http://www.allmovie.com/artist/kevin-rafferty-107401/filmography) at [All Movie Guide](/source/All_Movie_Guide)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Kevin Rafferty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Rafferty) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Rafferty?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.