Facts & Figurals: Contemporary Documentary
Cinema was the art form of the twentieth century. In the twenty-first, the rules of the image/screen/projection game have changed. Nonetheless, the contemporary screen—from your mobile to IMAX—is haunted by its predecessor (as a film such as 2001 A Space Odyssey foresaw). We are still and always learning to see
Documentary film always has partaken of the fictional and the delirious—only think of its two foundational works: Nanook of the North (Flaherty, 1922) and Man with a Movie Camera (Vertov, 1929)—while also purporting—believe it or not!—to have some sort of close relationship with “the truth.” Somewhere along the line—60s’ French Cinema Verité or Chris Marker’s “ciné, ma verité”?—the pretense was given up. Documentary today is wide open: fantastic, aleatory, minimal, constructivist, personal, assaultive ... and all those other groovy qualities.
This course will focus on a few of those films, made within the last decade. Get ready.
Monday, 2 pm to 5 pm
Seminar room Architecture theory, Wiedner Hauptstraße 7, courtyard, stairs nb. 2, 1st floor.
Begin: March 19 2018
PS. As each class meeting is rather long we will not meet every week (the schedule will be discussed at the first meeting). Therefore, attendance at every class is a must. (I know you have other classes to attend, but do not make scheduling conflicts for yourself. If you do, well, my class is your priority.)
NB: Attendance at the first class is required; no one admitted after the first class (and please, don't even ask - there are no exceptions).
