Fisher/1 World Cinema and the European Film Festival Course: FMS125/198; GER119/198 Professor: Jaimey Fisher Email: jrfisher@ucdavis.edu Based on the film festival in Locarno, this course examines contemporary cinema by considering the role of film festivals in producing, distributing, and exhibiting films around the world. The topography of the course reflects its focus: the class will consider the relationship between conventional national filmmaking and the transnational film festival, and thereby investigate the claim of one important film scholar (Thomas Elsaesser) that film festivals constitute the most important distribution system outside of Hollywood. The seminar will give special attention to the ways in which certain genres have become dominant at film festivals and to the ways in which those genres negotiate national and, increasingly, transnational spaces. For example, the "heritage film" of the 1980s has enjoyed a strong revival but also refiguration in the post-1989 historical melodrama which navigates cross-border spaces in new ways (as in The Lives of Others). We will examine other important aspects of the film festival circuit like global auteurs Athina Rachel Tsangari, Fatih Akin, and Apichatpong Weersasethakul, as well as films underscoring the afterlife of socially critical, neorealist cinema, a kind of aesthetics of reduction in our spectacular age (films of the Belgian Dardenne brothers and of the so-called Dogma films). We will read important critics of recent cinema, in particular Thomas Elsaesser, Andrew Higson, and David Bordwell as well as relevant theorists of cinema. FMS198/GER198 Description Whereas FMS125 focuses on the scholarly analysis and discussion of films and cinema, the FMS198 course will focus on the actual cinematic products. It will include screenings of films in Locarno and in Berlin; it will also require that students keep a journal of the films they see, which will also serve as a basis for the papers they write. The journal is described under course requirements. Required Texts: Timothy Corrigan, A Short Guide to Writing about Film Course Reader (pdfs) **Please** be sure to bring a blue book for the exam with you to Europe Filmography (Subject to change based on festival program) Attenberg (Tsangari, 2010) Lives of Others (Henckel v. Donnersmarck, Blue (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1993) 2006) Caché (Haneke) The Promise (Jean-Pierre/Luc Dardenne, 96) Celebration (Thomas Vinterberg, 1998) Uncle Boonmee who Can Recall His Head On (Fatih Akin, 2005) Past Lives ( Weersasethakul, 2010) La Haine (Matthieu Kassovitz, 1995) Course Requirements and Grade for FMS125 Class Participation/Quizzes: 10% of final grade This includes first and foremost attendance as well as regular participation and in-class exercises. There were also be periodic quizzes on the readings and screenings to make sure students are completing the required reading and viewing.
Fisher/2 Note: For every absence, two points will be deducted from this 10% of the participation grade. Tardiness counts as an absence. Two in-class presentations (20% of grade) Presentations should run 20-30 minutes and open up discussion after that. In Locarno, the presentation will present a film shown or a press conference attended, describing in detail the event in question as well as leading a discussion about its function at the festival. In Berlin, the presentation of a reading requires a one-two page handout for everyone in the class that should include: summary of main points, points of criticism, and concluding questions for class to open up discussion. Feel free to bring in materials from outside class. Using film-clips is also encouraged. Shorter Paper (3-5 pp., 15% of grade) Topics to be worked out with instructor; sensible to base on your presentation. Final Exam (35% of grade) Final exam (for which you will have 120 minutes) will include definitions/identifications, short answer, and essay questions. Please bring blue books for the exam. Longer Term Paper (7-9 pp. 20% of grade) Paper will address films watched and press conferences visited during the festival and how they relate to topics of the course. Or student may choose to write a conventional critical paper, in consultation with the professor. Course Requirements for FMS198 Attendance at all screenings is required; the attendance will be checked via the student s film journal, which will include an entry about each film seen and each press conference visited. During the festival, students are required to see at least two films a day, for a total minimum of 20 films as well as a minimum of three press conferences, all to be described in this journal. Each entry should include: a one-two paragraph summary of plot, including major scenes and overall trajectory of plot; and a one-two paragraph analysis of a scene or sequence that particularly interested or challenged the student. This journal will provide the basis for discussion of the films as well as, often, the final paper Tardiness: for each 24 hours (timed from stated due date and time), half a grade will be deducted (so, for example, A- to B+ for first 24 hours, B+ to B for second 24 hours, etc.). Disabilities If you have special needs related to a disability that may affect your performance in the course, please speak to the instructor after seminar or arrange an appointment to discuss your needs privately in the first week of class (by July 19). Requests for accommodations associated with a disability should include a letter from your campus s disability office (a letter with details about accommodations granted), as requests on the home campus would.
Fisher/3 FMS125&FMS198 Course Schedule Date Class (FMS125): Class (generally: 10am-12pm Berlin 10-11am Locarno) Watch (FMS125): film for next day@800pm Readings for FMS125 (due on day under which they appear) Notes Week 1: Art Cinema and Festivals in World-Cinema System T Jul 18 W Jul 19 Arrival and Check-In --see Program guide for arrival info at Château Orientation and class, Starts 10am Start reading on the plane! (below (P) =presentation readings) On-Site Orientation In Class Discussion: All readings note: 1) main argument R Jul 20 Walking Tour: Berlin (2pm) Watch (after dinner, 8pm): Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010) Class: 10am-12 Watch (after dinner, 8pm): La Promesse READ: (closely see next column) Bordwell, Art Cinema Neale Art Cinema as Institution Please read before class: Andrew, Foreword from Galt/Schoon. Wood, "Art Cinema" Kim, A. Weerasethkul s Films/ Installations (sample presentation: Jaimey) 2) main concepts used to make argt 3) questions you have/any sections not clear F Jul 21 (free day for travel in/around Germany) Corrigan, Chpt. 1 and 2 -- basic film technique and narrative -- notetaking and segmentation Corrigan, Chpt 3
Fisher/4 Week 2: Art-Genres of the Festival Circuit M Jul 24 Class: Art Cinema and the Film Festival 10am-12pm The Lives of Others Ruberto: Neorealism and Contemporary European Imagination Elsaesser, Film Festivals (small groups) (P) Peranson, Two Models of Festivals (shifted Dayan later for SUM17**) T Jul 25 Class: Heritage Cinema and Nation (730-9 followed by screening) Higson, Heritage Cinema Corrigan, Chpt 4 Higson: Concept of National Cinema W Jul 26 R Jul 27 Blue Class: Coproductions around the world Head On Class: Postcolonialist Legacies (P) De Valvk Film Festivals (2007) (P) Elsaesser, European Cinema as Worl cinema (P) Finney, Corproductions Corrigan, Chpt on Researching movies Naficy, Accented Cinema (P) Scherzer, Cinema, Colonialism, Postcolonialism F Jul 29 Caché (free day for travel in/around Germany) (P) Dayan, Looking for Sundance Attenberg
Fisher/5 M Jul 31 T Aug 1 W Aug 2 Travel to Locarno Watch (Locarno classroom) La Haine Tour of Locarno, 10am Evening class and then 8pm: Auteurism and National Cinema (430-630pm) Celebration FESTIVAL BEGINS Class: 10am-11am Week 3-4: Locarno Film Festival Clean rooms carefully! By plane, dinner at hostel Danan, From a Prenational Elsaesser, Double Occupancy (P) Iordanova Film Festival Circuit (P) Roddick, Festival in Age of Digital Reproduction Scherlen, Film According to Dogma Rich, Do festivals matter? (P) Hjort, Small Nation, Global Cinema (note: Switzerland uses Swiss Francs [CHF], not Euro) Welcome Lunch at noon R Aug 3 Regular Festival Schedule Class Sessions: Sat, Aug 5, 10-11; Monday, Aug 7, 10-11; Wed., Aug. 9, 10-11; Friday, Aug. 11, 10-11 Hostel Meals Bkfst: 7-10am Dinner: 7:30-8:30pm -- Minimum 2 films a day; -- required total of 20 films for 10 days of festival; plus write up of minimum 3 conversations or press conferences -- Class includes student presentations on films seen and on press conferences attended --be sure to use funds for field trips (tram, train, ferry) -- for FM198, be sure to write in journal about all events attended, including press conferences, etc. Sa Aug 12 S Aug 13 M Aug 14 Winner announced/ End of festival Winning Film Screened (Fevi, La Sala, L altra Sala) Bus to Milan Walking Tour of Milan At Piazza Grande (though regular screenings continue) Scheduled announced Sat. 13 Aug. 9am bus to Milan; (we leave early because it gets hot in Milan quickly) (will drop off bags at hotel and then tour) walking tour immediately after