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<\/a><\/p>\nNevertheless, we screened four completed documentaries on the evening of May 15th with a celebratory reception between the first two and the last two films.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Eunju Namkung and J.D. Connor (Director of Undergraduate Studies)<\/p><\/div>\n
Eunju Namkung started the evening with Onward Steward: Inside the Yale Library<\/em>.\u00a0 The Yale Library, under its recently appointed head Susan Gibbons, has been moving aggressively into new areas such as the adoption of scan and deliver.\u00a0 (One result: users have fewer reasons to go to the library itself.)\u00a0 Eunju interviewed a number of key figures, and the results illuminated the debate over the library’s future.\u00a0 She seemed always to be in the right place at the right time–the secret to documentary filmmaking–and got the goods. Eunju is planning to stream her documentary on line very shortly. When that happens, I’ll post a link here.<\/p>\n From its title, one might expect that Max Tellini’s Rethink Climate Change<\/em> was made by someone from the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, but Max was at Yale as a post-grad in the School of Management. Moreover, his documentary challenges the mindset of MBA programs.\u00a0 He shot much of the film in Hong Kong and Beijing, learning as he went along. I am still amazed that he could make this 60-minute documentary on a miniscule budget when twenty years ago it would have easily cost $250,000.\u00a0 The wonders of the digital. Max displayed a perseverance and determination that was very impressive.<\/p>\n Francesco Casetti offers Max Tellini some advice after the screening of Rethink Climate Change<\/em>.<\/p><\/div>\n And then we paused for some refreshments\u2026 Marie-Therese Maeder was a visiting post-doc from University of Zurich.\u00a0 She came to research issues of media and religion and to take Documentary Film Workshop.\u00a0 When she arrived MT wanted to audit my fall course on Media and US Presidential Elections, 1892-2012 instead.\u00a0 In fact, I urged her to do both, and the excellent result was The Religion of Politics: An Investigation into the 2012 US Presidential Election<\/em>. MT interviewed a local Catholic priest, the pastor of a Black Protestant church and a Mormon bishop.\u00a0 Perhaps because she was a foreigner, those interviewed were remarkably frank with their opinions! The intensity of a campaign also has much to do with their statements as well.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Marie Therese was only here for the fall semester, but her film was not completed until February or March.\u00a0 Our screening was the first opportunity for students in the class to see what she achieved.<\/p>\n Marie-Therese Maeder and her son Levin in the US to investigate religion and the media<\/p><\/div>\n The evening ended with Andrey Tolstoy’s remarkable documentary Ted Teaches Lynch<\/em>.\u00a0 To say that the film is “about” Ted Perry, Andrey’s undergraduate film professor at Middlebury College, misses the point.\u00a0 Ted may be the focus or perhaps more accurately the starting point, but Andrey’s documentary is about the experience of film viewing\u2013\u2013particularly viewing David Lynch’s films\u2013\u2013and what that experience can mean.\u00a0 Francesco Casetti, the Director of Graduate Studies for Film Studies, had not hidden his skepticism about Andrey’s undertaking, but by the end of the evening he had been convinced that this had been a productive endeavor.<\/p>\n Francesco (the skeptical DGS) and Andrey<\/p><\/div>\n Indeed, if all goes as planned, Andrey will serve as a Teaching Assistant next year for the class.\u00a0 And the suggestion was Prof Casetti’s (thanks Franceasco!)<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>***<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>