Early FilmsEarly Films
Short FilmsShort Films
The Family AlbumThe Family Album
Intimate StrangerIntimate Stranger
Nobody's BusinessNobody's Business
The Sweetest Sound
Wide AwakeWide Awake
First Cousin Once RemovedFirst Cousin Once Removed
56 Ways of Saying I Don't Remember56 Ways of Saying I Don't Remember
Letter to the EditorLetter to the Editor
BenitaBenita

Press Quotes

Altogether absorbing and unique, with a beautiful, handmade look and the director's darting, probing curiosity on display in every frame....Although the films theme - names - seems at the outset fairly modest, by the end, Berliner has applied the pressure of his intelligence and imagination and made it accordion out into something grander: a meditation on ego and memory, being and nothingness, inscribed on a grain of rice.

Adina Hoffman, The Jerusalem Post

"... an excellent film... a classic example of what eccentric, heavily authored documentary making is all about... a quirky, progressively involving investigation into the meanings, both etymological and cultural of names...and the crucial importance of names within the increasingly cacophonous babble of modern urban existence."

Lisa Mullen, Time Out, London

"Woven throughout his own witty and...personal observations are intriguing snippets of information... and a more universal essay on the power of names to evoke identity, temperament, and history."

Ann Hornaday, Los Angeles Times

"In what could have turned out to be the ultimate act of narcissism, Alan Berliner has made a fascinating...wry, contemplative, brilliantly edited cine-essay... exploring the origins, metaphysics and psychological implications of names....(an) original, provocative and deeply satisfying movie..."

Joel E. Siegel Washington, DC CityPaper

"...a cinematic meditation and visual, aural, intellectual and philosophical speculation... the film is charming and brilliant... a beautifully constructed work in which every element is carefully considered and gracefully executed...funny and wise and provocative."

Louis Black, Austin Chronicle

"Bringing together the many distinctive and virtuoso techniques developed in his previous films and installations -- flashing imagery, ingenious meshes of sound and picture, wonderful archival and found footage - and his keen eye for the story-making detail, (Berliner) has painstakingly assembled a film that will leave you thinking differently about who you are..."

Taos Talking Pictures

"Insightful, hilarious, silly and slightly alarming... The Sweetest Sound is a feast of oddball trivia, engaging personalities and rhythmical visual imagery."

Hollis Chacona, Austin Chronicle Online

"Year End Top Ten List"

Alison Macor, Austin American Statesman, December 2001