DANISH CINEMA COURSE DESCRIPTION

Transcription

1 DANISH CINEMA COURSE DESCRIPTION Danish Cinema is a course in English for international students offered each semester. The course gives an overview of the 120 years of Danish film as well as presenting special topics such as realism, comedy and melodrama in Danish cinema. Furthermore, the course presents director case studies of Oscar winning Susanne Bier and of Lars von Trier, who won The Golden Palms in Cannes. Every lecture ends with a showing of a relevant film. The course also includes an excursion to Nordisk Film, which is the world s oldest still existing film company.

2 Location: Time: University of Copenhagen, Amager, Karen Blixens Plads 8, auditorium Wednesdays from 3 to 5 p.m. After each lecture there will be a screening of a Danish film (5 p.m. to 7 p.m.). The screenings are open to all Danish Culture Course students. First lecture is Feb. 14 th and last lecture is April 25 th Furthermore, there will be an excursion on Saturday Mar. 24 th to Nordisk Film. A total of 10 lectures and 1 excursion. Coordinator: The course is organised by The Saxo Institute. The coordinator is Anne Jespersen, Department of Film and Media Studies, University of Copenhagen. Lecturers: Assistant: Website: Facebook: Anne Jespersen, Department of Film and Media Studies Niels Henrik Hartvigson, Department of Film and Media Studies There will be an assistant from Danish Culture Courses, who will assist with practical matters. dcc@hum.ku.dk Registration: There are two ways to register: Fill in the registration form in this leaflet and hand it in to the Danish Culture Courses staff or find the registration form on our website, fill it in electronically and send it to dcc@hum.ku.dk from your KU-mail. The deadline is March 15 th The course is only offered to international students enrolled at the University of Copenhagen through IU&S (International Education & Grants) or through Open University: We can only admit 60 students at this course. Students will be admitted according to the date they hand in the registration form. Exchange students sign up for a maximum of 30 ECTS points at the UCPH per semester. If you wish to join this course but your enrollment in it will make your total amount of ECTS exceed the 30 point limit, please contact the department(s) of the course(s) you re registered for, and ask to be withdrawn in order to make room for it. Once you have room for the amount of ECTS of the exam form you wish to sign up for, please fill in a DCC registration form and send it to dcc@hum.ku.dk and we ll make sure you ll be enrolled in the course.

3 Examination: When you register for the course you are automatically registered for the exam. Danish Cinema, Media, and Information Technology in a Historical Perspective HDCBO1041E Form of exam: Written take-home assignment, optional subject, following active student participation. The subject of the assignment is agreed between the student and the teacher. Assessment: Internal exam with one examiner, the 7-point grading scale. Exam language: English. Extent: Max. 20 standard pages. Group exam: The exam can only be taken individually. Special provisions: Active student participation consists of a synopsis of 2-3 standard pages. Make-up exam/re-exam/if not fulfilling requirement for active student participation: Written take-home assignment, optional subject. The subject of the assignment is agreed between the student and the teacher. Assessment: Internal exam with one examiner, the 7-point grading scale. Exam language: English. Extent: pages Group exam: The exam can only be taken individually The assignment must be uploaded in Digital Exam no later than June 7 th at 12 p.m. (noon). After evaluation of the exam the grade or result is automatically added to your transcript and reported to your home university by IUS (International Education & Grants). The grade will be published on KU-net Self Service four weeks after deadline for submission of exam paper. Literature: Your personal syllabus is the binder unless otherwise arranged. The binder will be sold at Publi@kom located in room 11A.0.02 at KUA2. The binder will contain all relevant texts. A collection of pertinent books are available in the reference library. These books are only to be studied in the library, cf. list of books, which you can find in the Absalon room. The location is Saxo Knowledge Center 13B, 2 nd floor at KUA2. Important dates: Mar. 15 th : Deadline for registration and change of exams May 24 th : Jun. 7 th : End-of-term celebration Deadline for submission of exam papers at 12 p.m. (noon) in Digital Exam.

4 SCHEDULE Feb. 14 th Lecture 1: Introduction to the Course Feb. 21 st Lecture 2: Danish Film in an International Context Mar. 7 th Lecture 3: Realism in Danish Cinema Mar. 14 th Lecture 4: Director Case Study: Lars von Trier Mar. 21 st Lecture 5: The Danish Comedy Tradition Mar. 24 st Excursion: Nordisk Film Apr. 4 th Lecture 6: Director Case Study: Susanne Bier Apr. 11 th Lecture 7: Danish Melodramas Apr. 18 th Lecture 8: Images of Sexuality Apr. 25 th Lecture 9: Danish Television Drama May 2 nd Lecture 10: Conclusion and Summary The programme is subject to alteration.

5 Programme Lecture 1: (Feb. 14 th ) Introduction to the Course An overview of Danish film then and now Film: Festen (The Celebration) Expected reading in binder: Casper Tybjerg: Danish Cinema Peter Schepelern: Ten Years of Dogma. Mette Hjort: Dogma 95: A Small Nation s Response to Globalisation. Lecture 2: (Feb. 21 st ) Danish Film in an International Context This lecture will focus on the impact that Denmark and Danish artists have made on world cinema. From the first big European film star, Asta Nielsen, over the world renowned director Carl Theodor Dreyer to the current situation with the Dogma 95 movement as well as both Danish directors (Lars von Trier, Susanne Bier, Nicolas Winding Refn, Bille August) and stars (Mads Mikkelsen, Connie Nielsen, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) making their marks internationally. Film: Drive Expected reading in binder: Mette Hjort and Ib Bondebjerg: A Small Nation in a Global Culture. David Bordwell: A Strong Sense of Narrative Desire. A Decade of Danish Film. Kristin Thompson & David Bordwell: Back to Basics. Ib Bondebjerg: Cinema. Lecture 3: (Mar. 7 th ) Realism in Danish Cinema The lecture traces the strong realistic tradition in Danish cinema. The first focal point is post-war realism, where directors like Asbjørn Andersen and Johan Jacobsen introduced a new socially critical edge into Danish films. In the 60s the French Nouvelle Vague inspired a new generation of directors to make realistic masterpieces such as Balladen om Carl-Henning and Weekend. This Danish New Wave blends into the 70s and 80s, the decades of children and teenagers, where directors such as Bille August and Nils Malmros create a psychological realism, which successfully brands Danish Cinema abroad. Film: Tree of Knowledge (Kundskabens Træ) Expected reading in binder: Birger Langkjær: Realism and Danish Cinema. (Niels Henrik Hartvigson)

6 Lecture 4: (Mar. 14 th ) Director Case Study: Lars von Trier Lars von Trier is undoubtedly the most original artist in Danish film. His work consists of very experimental and exclusive films as well as more accessible films that have reached a large worldwide audience. He is the man behind the Dogma 95 movement. Of his more well known films can be mentioned Breaking the Waves (1996), Dancer in the Dark (2000), which won the Golden Palms in Cannes, Dogville (2003), starring Nicole Kidman, as well as Melancholia (2011), which the European Film Academy in December 2011 gave the prize Best European Picture The lecture will throw light on Trier's films, life and career. Film: Melancholia Expected reading in binder: Peter Schepelern: The Making of an Auteur. Ib Bondebjerg: Interview with Lars von Trier. Lecture 5: (Mar. 21 st ) The Danish Comedy Tradition The transition from silent to sound cinema created profound changes in how the film medium was conceived. The 30s exploded in comedies with music and song directly inspired by popular revue, variety and vaudeville. We will trace the comedy and musical renewal of the cinema up to today and see how the inspiration from other media paved the way for new types of film stars. Film: Adams Apples (Adams Æbler) Expected reading in binder: Niels Hartvigson: Med Fuld Musik/With Pipes and Drums in Soila. (Niels Henrik Hartvigson) Excursion: (Mar. 24 st ) Nordisk Film We visit Nordisk Film in Valby. We meet at Valby St. at 9:50 a.m.

7 Lecture 6: (Apr. 4 th ) Director Case Study: Susanne Bier One of the many women directors in Denmark, Susanne Bier, made her film debut in She is a very personal filmmaker and is a gifted director, getting the most out of the actors' performances. We will study some of her films, including her 1999 romantic comedy The One and Only (Den Eneste Ene), one of the most popular Danish films from the 1990s, seen by almost Danes. Bier s film After the Wedding was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2006 and her film In a Better World did even better it won an Oscar in Film: In a Better World (Hævnen) Expected reading in binder: Mette Hjort: Interview with Susanne Bier. Michael Kjær: When Life Has a Will of Its Own. Vicky Wilson: Open Hearts. Online reading: Synne Rifbjerg: Interview with Susanne Bier, it s Never just Black and White. Lecture 7: (Apr. 11 th ) Danish Melodramas From its inception Danish cinema displayed a great appetite for melodrama. The lecture traces the development of the genre within Danish Cinema and touches upon the exotic melodramas of Nordisk Film Company, the acting styles of Asta Nielsen and other great silent melodrama actors, the 40 war and post-war film noir and the Bergman-inspired melodramas from the 70s and the psychological case studies of children and youth in the films of Nils Malmros. Film: Manslaughter (Drabet) Expected reading in binder: Peter Brooks: The Aesthetics of Astonishment. Casper Tybjerg: IV Art and Melodrama; V The Lure of the Abyss. (Niels Henrik Hartvigson)

8 Lecture 8: (Apr. 18 th ) Images of sexuality This lecture deals with how sexuality, sexual identities and sexual practices are portrayed in different periods of the Danish Cinema. The images of sexuality offer an interesting view of how a culture deals with traditionally sensitive themes and phenomena. The liberalization of picture porn in the late 60s offered a number of different ways to deal with what was hitherto taboo, and it sparked both the immensely popular bedroom soft-core pornography comedies and a number of more sober films exploring the sexuality of youth, elderly and homosexuals. Film: Shake it (all about) (En Kort en Lang) Expected reading in binder: Louise Wallenberg: Mazurka på Sengekanten/Bedroom Mazurka. Niels-Henrik Hartvigson: Rural intentions: Sexuality in Danish homeland cinema (Niels Henrik Hartvigson) Lecture 9: (Apr. 25 th ) Danish Television Drama Since the 1950s, the Danish television station DR has produced television drama as part of its public service obligations, and the 24-part series Matador ( ) still stands as a major achievement. However, since 2004, several highly accomplished series have successfully reached a vast international audience with titles like The Killing, Borgen and The Bridge. The lecture will explore this exciting new development and its relationship with Danish cinema. Film: An episode from Borgen Expected reading in binder: Christian Monggaard: Matador : A man gets off the train. Expected online reading (links announced on Absalon): Vicky Frost, The Killing, a slow-moving drama with subtitles, is a hit for BBC, The Guardian, March 4 th Gary Day, TV review: The Killing II, The Times Higher Education, December Gerard Gilbert, Nothing like a Dane: New Thriller Borgen Centres on a Trailblazing Female Politician, The Independent, January 5 th Lecture 10: (May 2 nd ) Conclusion and Summary

9 ADDRESSES Danish Culture Courses Contact Information; Lecturer: Course Coordinator: Anne Jespersen, Department of Film and Media Studies, Karen Blixens Vej 4, DK-2300 København S annejesp@gmail.com Contact for General Questions: Assistants: Elisabeth Björkenheim Andersen Jónas Terney Arason Tómas Terney Arason Anne Bartholdy Katrine Bruun Sandra Creutzberg Christian Egelund Idorn Annette Klaaborg Ann Patricia Breinholm Nielsen Amalie Witt Skovhus Bjørn Søndergaard Karen Blixens Vej 4, room dcc@hum.ku.dk Director: Per Methner Rasmussen, The Saxo Institute. Karen Blixens Vej 4, room DK-2300 København S pmr@hum.ku.dk Web-site: Facebook: Exam Secretary: Mia Petersen Sullca The Saxo Institute. Karen Blixens Vej 4, room DK-2300 København S gwq633@hum.ku.dk IUS (International Education & Grants) International Uddannelse og SU Fiolstræde 1 Postboks 1143 DK-1010 København K Phone: inter@adm.ku.dk