Film Studies for Free

Brokeback Mountain Studies: Through the Queer Longing Glass, 2011, Catherine Grant

Take a look at Dr. Catherine Grant’s Film Studies for Free site here. A fantastic online resource of film-related texts, lectures and of course short film essays.

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GSSF Symposium 2015: Short Film (and) Criticism

Transformers: The Premake, Kevin B Lee

Spent Saturday at the Glasgow Short Film Festival Symposium at the CCA. Excellent contributions from Isla Leaver-Yap (on curation as criticism) and Catherine Grant & Kevin B Lee (on the video essay). Here’s the full programme: Glasgow Short Film Festival and University of Glasgow School of Culture & Creative Arts in association with University of Edinburgh:…

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Beware of Mr Baker

Beware of Mr Baker

Thanks to Dr Mark Wilson, I now am. I am now very beware of Mr Ginger Baker. Website for the film is here. Check him out, looking relatively sensible here…

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Orfeo ed Euridice

Scottish Opera: Orfeo ed Euridice

I’m no opera buff by any stretch, but I was pretty underwhelmed by Scottish Opera’s Orfeo ed Euridice on Saturday. Was it a matinée issue? Maybe it was the frumpy wig of Orfeo? Never mind, it’s all grist to the mill innit?

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Power Suit Yourself: Is the Power Suit Dead?

Mike Nichols’ Working Girl (1988) is centered on Tess McGill, played

Part of the Glasgow Film Festival, was this little panel discussion, at the CCA on Saturday: ‘Since the heyday of shoulder pads in the 1940s, costume has been used to illustrate female power on screen. But when Sarah Lund’s woolly jumpers hit the headlines, did perceptions shift? A panel of guests will discuss wearable power…

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Material Language, Or All Truths Wait In All Things

Material Language, Or All Truths Wait In All Things

Material Language, Or All Truths Wait In All Things, is Lorna Macintyre’s latest show, and it opened last Friday at Mary Mary. Consisting entirely of photographs, it’s a delicate show of the natural and unnatural, with some smashing hanging decisions going on. Neil says ‘inspirational’. It’s a Two Cat Show as well – that’s two…

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The Stuart Hall Project

This week I’m trying to watch as much John Akomfrah as is possible. Here’s a link to a Frieze video about him. And here’s a link to a version of The Stuart Hall Project, 2013.

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Bitter Lake

Hurrah! New Adam Curtis is available – and about time too. Released last Sunday at 9pm on iplayer. Find it here until the beeb take it away. Adam’s Blog is here. And here’s a randomly selected short of his, from Charlie Booker’s Weekly Wipe: A Film about how all of us have become Richard Nixon.

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