Christian Farrell: CINEMA OF THE WILD

Subject is not scheduled Not scheduled

Subject guarantor:

Name of lecturer(s):

Learning outcomes of the course unit:

Outstanding cinematic experience.

Mode of study:

This course will involve screenings, discussions, excursions, and in-class, direct cinema experiments.

Prerequisites and co-requisites:

None

Course contents:

The module is taught by Christian Farrell.

The „art of the wild“ is to see art in the context of the process of nature - nature as process rather than as product or commodity - because „wild“ is a name for the way that phenomena continually actualize themselves.

-Gary Snyder

„The wild“ is often associated with distant and pristine wildernesses - primeval forests, mountain peaks, ocean depths - but „wildness“ - uncultivated, self-actualizing, vital - is present everywhere: in our cities and towns, bodies and minds. In this module we will explore the wild zone that exists at the meeting place of nature and art, science and poetry, empiricism and imagination. We will view and discuss the work of a range of cinema artists who have focused their lenses upon the organisms and natural processes which are all around us (and within us). Through hands-on experiments and excursions to undeveloped places on the edges of Prague and to the South Bohemian region of Cesky Krumlov, we will make our own investigations into the forms and phenomena of the natural world. Guided by an array of visionary artists, amateur scientists, nature poets, and experimental filmmakers (including Leonardo da Vinci, Albertus Seba, Anna Atkins, Jean Painleve, Erst Haeckel, Susan Derges, Semiconductor, silt, Wilson Bentley, Karl Blosfeldt, Margaret Watts-Hughes, Hans Jenny, August Strindberg, Claude Nuridsany and Marie Perennou, David Lebrun, Pedro Gonzalez-Rubio, Ben Rivers, Stan Brakhage, J.W. Goethe, Novals, and H.D. Thoreau) we will employ pre-cinematic devices, camera-less techniques, direct-cinematic strategies, contemplative experiments, observation, and 'exact sensorial imagination' to meet the wild in the outer world and within the biotic nature of the creative process itself.

For the last day of our class we will travel to South Bohemia to investigate the ancient and enchanting town of Cesky Krumlov. Organically accreted over 700 years on the serpentine meander of the Vltava river, and surrounded by forests, Krumlov is an ideal location to contemplate the interweaving of human imagination and elemental forces.

Here our exploration of „paranaturalist“ cinematic approaches to natural phenomena and organic pattern culminates with a direct film workshop: collaging, scratching, and painting on 35mm film.

Cost for excursion to Cesky Krumlov:

Bus journey (round trip) 400 Kc

Lunch 250Kc

Materials fee 100Kc

For students who wish to spend the night on Saturday, accommodation can be arranged. Please let us know as soon as possible at jitka.hejtmanova@famu.cz

Depending on Sunday's weather, a bicycle or rafting excursion may be possible.

Recommended or required reading:

None

Assessment methods and criteria:

Student evaluations will be based on attendance, involvement in class discussions, and participation in in-class experiments.

Course web page:

Note:

Born in San Francisco, California, Christian Farrell has been living in his wife's hometown of Cesky Krumlov in South Bohemia, Czech Republic off and on since 1998. As a member of the cinema collaborative silt, Christian's films, installations, and performances have been shown throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia at venues including the Whitney Biennial, Sundance Film Festival, New York MOMA, San Francisco International Film Festival, and the Rotterdam Film Festival. He holds degrees in both Film and Philosophy/Religion and has been teaching courses which chart the territory of his overlapping fields of interest since 2001.

Further information:

No schedule has been prepared for this course

The subject is a part of the following study plans: