Film focuses on long-time faculty member

5:11 p.m., March 2, 2005--Jane Clark’s short film, A Host of Daffodils, capturing the death of her father, Arnold Clark, who taught biology at UD from 1946-81, will be screened at the Hearts and Minds Film Festival, at noon, Thursday, March 3, at Theater N in the Nemours Building, Wilmington.

Jane Clark, who attended UD for a time and has acted on stage, screen and TV, describes her film as “a narrative piece with the experience of the three weeks of my father's demise in the hospital condensed down to four days. It is shot from my father's point of view with the camera as his head, coughing when he coughs, blinking when he blinks.... It is touching, thought-provoking and identifiable.”

Prof. Clark, a resident of Woods Hole, Mass., at the time of his death, advanced the ideas of teaching genetics in schools and understanding science as part of culture. He helped establish a graduate program in biological sciences at UD and guided 20 students to master’s and 10 to doctoral degrees. He initiated courses in biology for nonmajors and served for 10 years as faculty representative to the Athletic Governing Board. He died Sept. 13, 2003, in Falmouth, Mass., from complications following a stroke. He was 87 years old.

Jane Clark said the film shows how her father’s death closed the rift that had grown between her, her brother and her mother. “Three very different people found themselves forced to deal with each other in a situation that demanded compromise and understanding.”

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