AUTHORIAL STYLES OF CONTEMPORARY CINEMA
- Overview
- Assessment methods
- Learning objectives
- Contents
- Delivery method
- Teaching methods
- Contacts/Info
No prerequisites are required.
The examination of the knowledge of the course contents will take place by an oral test. The acquisition and fluently of the topics listed in the contents section will be assessed. Likewise, it will be essential to demonstrate a solid knowledge and good analytical ability of all the films in the programme. As preparatory material for understanding the course and preparing for the examination, knowledge and analysis of all the films (which will be covered during the course) will be compulsory.
The mark will be determined not only by the degree of preparation of the student (60%) but also by the expository ability (clarity, synthesis, argumentation) and the critical and analytical ability shown during the discussion (40%). For attending students only, there is the possibility of preparing a paper on the analysis of the work of an author of contemporary cinema (between 25,000 and 30,000 characters, to be delivered in digital format, by e-mail, 15 days before the date of the exam for which the student is registering). The procedures for preparing the paper and the terms of its validity will be explained during the lessons. The preparation of the paper replaces one of the texts in the syllabus and will be the subject of discussion during the oral examination. The evaluation of the paper (for a maximum of 5 points) will take into account the ability to analyse the filmic texts and the stylistic specificities of the author (60%) and the ability to adequately motivate statements and judgements through the text (40%).
The student must have achieved a total score of 18/30 to pass the learning assessment.
The course aims to provide an overview of trends in contemporary cinema from the 1990s to the present day, with a focus on the notion of authorship and the possibility of identifying recognisable stylistic features.
The aim is to provide an analytical and interpretative method of the filmic text, taking into account some fundamental guidelines:
- historical evolution of the distinctive traces of film authorship, and redefinition according to the geographical, historical and artistic context;
- analysis of the notion of "style" and identification of the stylistic marks typical of contemporary cinema, also in relation to the production, distribution and promotion logics (e.g. film festivals) in place;
- possibility of connecting the author's artistic identity with his/her own stylistic, linguistic and narrative elements (writing, themes, framing and staging, point of view);
- connections between historical, social, political and cultural processes and their cinematographic reworking in contemporary auteur production.
The expected learning outcomes include:
- ability to critically analyse the filmic text;
- knowledge of the contemporary film system, both from a historical and artistic point of view;
- ability to recognise the stylistic and narrative elements that define a coherent and organised production.
The course is structured on four levels, which complement each other:
1) Definition and analysis of methodological, theoretical and historical-economic issues related to the notion of 'contemporary cinema', 'auteur' and 'style' (indicatively 12 hours).
2) Identification and stylistic-formal analysis of representative audiovisual works of contemporary auteur cinema (approx. 20 hours).
3) Representation and re-elaboration in an authorial key of historical, social and political events in contemporary art-house cinema (approximately 24 hours):
4) Interdisciplinary seminar in "crossover" mode (for a maximum of 12 hours), which will include the participation of other course lecturers, in order to explore, understand and interpret the topics dealt with through different keys of interpretation.
The course objectives will be achieved through face-to-face lectures (a total of 68 hours). Lectures will also analyse the course content interactively with students through classroom discussions and debats.
The professor receives students by appointment, to be arranged by writing to m.piredda@uninsubria.it, at the Rossi Pavilion.