FILM THEORIES

The course is part of the “Related or Additional Studies” programmes included in the curriculum of the “Performing Arts and Media Studies” module for the Bachelor's Degree Programme and part of the “Conservation of Cultural Heritage and Performing Arts Management” segment. Its aim is providing students with a set of theoretical notions that have distinguished the debate about cinema throughout history. The objectives of the course are: developing reflection skills through critical reading and film viewing; recognizing the theoretical dimension of the cinematic experience, in particular considering the epistemology and the fundamentals of the discipline, contextualizing it within its relevant historical period.

1. Knowledge and comprehension: Ability to recognize the principal phases of the theoretical debate that has developed around cinema; Ability to comprehend the current meaning of specific critical texts.
2. Ability to apply the acquired knowledge and comprehension: Ability to distinguish the theoretical aspects of a film text or a text belonging to the specialized literature; Ability to place a text of film theory in its specific historical-social context.
3. Ability of critical judgement: Ability to form and discuss simple possibilities of interpretation of audio-visual artworks; Ability to develop a critical-theoretical approach when evaluating films or other audio-visual products.
4. Communication skills: Ability to participate in discussions around the subjects of the course; Ability to define the specific character of the theoretical and historical discussion using an appropriate vocabulary, during the exam and during lectures; Ability to interact with fellow students and with lecturers in a critical and cooperative way, both during class and via virtual platforms.
5. Learning skills: Ability to take notes and share them in a cooperative manner; Ability to consult the reference texts and the bibliography these contain in a critical manner.

No prerequisites are required, but it is advisable for students to include the following courses in their study plan: History of cinema, Film analysis, Aesthetics, Photography, and History of contemporary art.

The critical-theoretical debate has been present in the History of cinema ever since its founding. In its multiple and vast expressions, it offers a comprehensive and stimulating overview of the issues that arise from the images in motion at the very moment they appear. Films, in fact, induce spectators (and scholars) to formulate questions around their own subjectivity-objectivity, they demand positioning and standpoints, they evoke a context, they relate to a series of other debates (critical, theoretical, social), they stir our own (frail) human condition. Against this background, the course intends to reconstruct part of the debate that has developed around certain practices of film that remain crucial in the contemporary modes of vision: the (ontological) status of images, the presence of a support/device, the gesture of the assemblage, the haptic and specular dimension of the gaze. The student will achieve this by means of confronting a number of theoretical essays (classic, modern and contemporary), viewing and discussing a number of significant film sequences, reading and discussing theoretical texts, with the latter two requiring an active students’ participation.

- Thomas Elsaesser, Malte Hagener, “Film Theory: An Introduction Through the Senses”, London, Routledge, 2009
- A selection of critical texts will be provided by the professor during lectures.

Additionally, students will also be required to be familiar with the following film sequences and films that will be projected in the classroom (all references will be uploaded after each lesson on Moodle):

"Rear Window", Alfred Hitchcock, USA, 1954
"The Searchers", John Ford, USA, 1956
"Persona", Ingmar Bergman, Sweden, 1966
"Blade Runner", Ridley Scott, USA, 1982
"Crash", Paul Haggis, USA, 2004
"The Silence of the Lambs", Jonathan Demme, USA, 1990
"The New World", Terrence Malick, USA, 2005
"Singin’ in the Rain", Stanley Donen, Grace Kelly, USA, 1952
"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", Michel Gondry, USA, 2004
"Toy Story", John Lasseter, USA, 1995

Additional materials of in-depth studies (biographies, essays, articles, indications concerning films, etc.) will be uploaded among the course materials on Moodle.

Students who cannot attend lectures are kindly requested to consult Moodle for general information on the course and subsequently to get in contact with the professor in order to agree upon an examination programme.

The method of assessment consists of an oral exam. It consists of three questions, two concerning the contents of the textbook and the essays contained in the programme and one question related to the critical-theoretical aspects regarding the films contained in the filmography.

The lectures will take place in class and employ a critical-theoretical perspective. They include reading and commentary on texts, viewing of few emblematic film sequences and active participation of students. The students’ participation will consist of discussions in class or teamwork – when the number of participants allows for it.

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In case the Covid-19 emergency should continue during the year 2021 as well, which will imply the adoption of forms of distance learning, the course will be held mostly by means of recorded videoconferences using Google Meet (allowing time-delayed vision as well). The intent is to try to maintain, as far as possible, some form of interaction and discussion with students through chat, forums, conference-calls for smaller groups of students. Nevertheless, it is possible that some lectures will be replaced by interactive lectures on our Moodle platform with PowerPoints containing commentary, video-essays and other material for in-depth study. As to the final exams, the assessment method will still consist of an oral discussion that will also be conducted, when necessary, online by means of a videoconference.

Class attendance is recommended to all students and is required to those who wish to apply for a thesis in History of Cinema.

Ca’ Foscari follows the Italian law (Law 17/1999; Law 170/2010) for the support and accommodation services available to students with disabilities or specific learning disabilities. If you have either a motor, visual, hearing or another disability (Law 17/1999), or a specific learning disorder (Law 170/2010) and you require support (classroom assistance, technological aids for carrying out exams or personalized exams, accessible format material, note retrieval, specialist tutoring as study support, interpreters or other), please contact the Disability and DSA office disita@unive.it.

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