Course Programme (may be subject to some modification)

AUTUMN TERM

Week 1: Introduction to Film Forms and Film History

In this session, we will introduce the course, taking a look at some of its main themes and topics. We will start by tracing the history of film from pre-cinema technologies, practices and popular culture, considering their impact on early silent films by Edison, the Lumières and Alice Guy-Blaché. In this lesson, we will also start examining film forms, focusing on mise-en-scène.

Week 2: Early Cinema History: From the Cinema of Attractions to Narrative Cinema

This week, we will cover the period of transition from the very early cinema spectacles to more narrative-driven films, particularly focusing on examples from Britain and the USA. This shift will be contextualised in relation to changes in technology, society and censorship in the first decade of the 20^th century. We will also continue exploring film forms by looking at cinematography.

Week 3: German Expressionism and Soviet Cinema

In this lesson, we will focus on two of the most significative European film avant-gardes of the 1920s: German Expressionism and Soviet Cinema. We will trace the main formal and stylistic characteristics of each one through clips, such as the use of montage in relation to ideological meanings in some key Soviet films. Both movements will be also connected to other forms of contemporary artistic avant-gardes as well as popular cinema produced in Germany and the Soviet Union respectively. Our exploration of film forms will continue with the examination of lighting and editing.

Week 4: The Rise of Hollywood: Stardom, Studios, and the Transition to Sound

In this first week dedicated to Hollywood, we will focus on the 1920s, tracing the emergence of the studio system and stardom through popular genres like slapstick comedy and stars like Clara Bow. We will survey practices in production, distribution and exhibition that provided the basis for the classical Hollywood period, reaching the transition to sound in the late 1920s. We will also consider the work of independent filmmakers like Oscar Micheaux in relation and opposition to Hollywood. We will conclude the lesson by focusing on the last film form: sound.

Week 5: Classic Hollywood: Popular Film Genres

In this session, we will examine the classical Hollywood period between the consolidation of the studio system in the 1930s and its decline in the 1950s. We will continue exploring some of the issues introduced in Week 4, particularly considering the work of specific production units in studios like RKO and MGM, distribution and exhibition practices through the lens of popular film genres.

Week 6: Italian Neorealism and the “Golden Age” of Italian Cinema

In a detour from Hollywood, this week we will focus on Italian cinema. Starting with an overview of the socio-political history of the country, we will trace elements of realism and regionalism in cinema since the silent period. This will help contextualising the emergence of Neorealism in the 1940s, in response to the Second World War and the Post-War reconstruction. We will consider how distribution and reception have shaped the definition of Neorealism and look at the examples from films by De Sica and Rossellini, among the others. We will conclude by tracing continuities and differences between Neorealism and the Golden Age of Italian cinema between the 1950s-60s.

Week 7: French New Wave: Criticism, Authorship, and the Left Bank

In this lesson, we will focus on the French New Wave and the Left Bank filmmakers through the analysis of films by Truffaut, Godard, and Varda. The session will start with an overview of French cinema before the 1950s, such as poetic realism and popular genres like the policier. We will then consider the fundamental connection between the New Wave and the emergence of film criticism and film culture in France in the 1950s-60s, which shaped ideas of authorship in cinema and a critical approach to film language.

Week 8: New Hollywood: Experimenting with Narrative and Aesthetics

This week, we are back in Hollywood, starting from the crisis of the studio system outlined in Week 5. The emergence of a new generation of filmmakers and new practices in the post-studio period will be connected with the determinant changes in production practices, technologies, censorship and the socio-cultural context in the 1960s-70s. While New Hollywood is usually associated with the work Scorsese, Coppola and the Movie Brats, we will also survey the fundamental role of women filmmakers in the period.

Week 9: Black Independent Cinema: From Blaxploitation to L.A. Rebellion

In this final week of term, we will turn to independent cinema by Black American filmmakers in the period between the 1970s and the 1990s. Starting by looking at the Civil Rights Movement, we will be examining Blaxploitation cinema in the early 1970s through the key example of Melvin van Peebles. Alongside the more popular Blaxploitation, we will look at the work of the L.A. Rebellion, a group of Los Angeles-based filmmakers such as Charles Burnett, Julie Dash, and Billy Woodberry, who aimed to create an alternative to the dominant mode of Hollywood cinema.

**Christmas break**

SPRING TERM

Week 10: Contemporary Hollywood: Media Convergence and Blockbusters

In this lesson, we are concluding our chronological examination of Hollywood cinema by focusing on the period between the 1980s and the present. The session will concentrate on blockbusters and the links between different creative industries, in the context of new technologies, media conglomerates, and emerging forms of distribution. Examples such as Jurassic Park will give us the opportunity to explore these connections in more depth.

Week 11: British Cinema: From the New Wave to the New Millennium

In this session, we will explore British Cinema, particularly focusing on social realism as a form of cinema that is closely connected to specific social and political conditions. We will look at examples from the 1960s British New Wave to start examining the main characteristics of social realism and trace some of its elements in more contemporary films. We will also consider the key work of the Black Film Movement in the 1980s and the mainstream success of British-Asian filmmakers like Gurinder Chadha in the 1990s.

Week 12: New Waves in Eastern European Cinemas

In this session, we will explore New Waves and film movements emerged in Eastern European Cinemas in different historical periods. We will start by considering the context of the Cold War and the impact of political upheavals on cinema. We will then look at the 1960s Czech New Wave more in-depth, through examples of filmmakers like Miloš Forman and Vĕra Chytilová. The lesson will then shift to cinemas in the post-Soviet context through the case study of the contemporary Romanian New Wave.

Week 13: Latin American Cinemas

This week, we will focus on Latin American Cinemas by looking at how different filmmakers have used cinema to reflect on the history and the present of their countries. We will examine the anti-colonialist Third Cinema, which emerged in the 1960s in response to contemporary forms of neocolonialism and capitalism in countries such as Argentina, Cuba, and Brazil. We will then turn to more contemporary examples that reflect on traumatic pasts and on cinema as a medium to re-frame history.

Week 14: Australian and New Zealand Cinemas

In this session, we will focus on the renaissance of Australian cinema since the 1970s and the soaring in production in New Zealand in the same period. We will consider how, previous to this period, cinema was closely connected to the British industry and subsequently became a means of assertion of cultural independence and transnational success. The lesson will also explore Indigenous and Fourth Cinema through the work of filmmakers like Merata Mita.

Week 15: Bollywood and Indian Cinema Industries

This lesson will offer an overview of the wealth of film industries that have prospered in India since the silent period, tied to different languages and cultures, and concentrate more specifically on Hindi films. We will consider the emergence of Hindi cinema as predominant in the subcontinent after the Independence, looking at both popular genres and parallel cinema. We will then focus on Bollywood productions after the 1990s, tied to the diaspora, changing socio-cultural contexts, and the circulation of popular film imagery.

Week 16: Japanese and Korean Cinemas

In this session, we will focus on Japanese and South Korean cinemas, highlighting the connections between the two countries due to their history. We will first look at Japanese cinema in the period between the 1940s and 1950s, examining in particular melodramas (shomingeki) set in the contemporary period and the work of directors like Yasujirō Ozu. The lesson will then focus on South Korean cinema in correspondence with the transition to the democracy in the country in the late 1980s and the more recent international success of the Korean Wave.

Week 17: Chinese, Hong Kong, and Taiwanese Cinemas

This week, we will consider the close ties between the Chinese, Hong Kong and Taiwanese cinema industries, contextualising them in relation to the history and politics of these countries. After an overview of the main trends and cinematic movements up to the 1970s, we will focus on the post-1980s period, with the emergence of new generations of filmmakers in Mainland China and the international success of wuxia films. We will then consider examples of the Hong Kong New Wave, such as filmmakers Wong Kar-wai and Ann Hui, as well as directors working with popular genres like Johnnie To. Finally, we will turn to the second wave of Taiwanese filmmakers emerged in the 1990s.

Week 18: Iranian and Arab Cinemas

In this lesson, we will first focus on Iranian cinema, from the Iranian New Wave in the 1960s to the more recent New Iranian Cinema. In examining Iranian cinema, we will consider issues related to censorship and stylistic elements used by filmmakers to sidestep it. The lesson will then turn to cinematic traditions in the Arab world, looking at a fertile industry like that of Egypt, with filmmakers like Youssef Chahine and international stars like Omar Sharif, as well as examples from Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.

Week 19: Post-colonial Cinema and Popular Industries in Western and Central Africa

In this session, we will look at examples from Western and Central African cinemas. Through a chronological approach, we will first consider the emergence of indigenous filmmakers in the period of decolonisation starting from the 1960s, such as Senegalese director Ousmane Sembène and Sarah Maldoror, a key figure in Angolan anti-colonial cinema. The lesson will then look at more recent filmmakers originally from this region, but often working transnationally, and popular in the festival circuit. Finally, we will focus on commercial industries like Nollywood, from the 1990s to New Nollywood, in relation to modes of production, distribution, and new media.

Week 20: Animation: From Pre-Cinema to CGI

In this last lesson of the course, we will focus on animation from its pre-cinematic origins to the contemporary digital forms. Looking at productions from different periods and countries, we will have a chance to revisit some of the main issues and themes discussed throughout the module. Examples will include films by the Fleischer brothers, Lotte Reiniger, Disney, and Studio Ghibli, among others.

Additional Reading

There is no requirement to undertake specific reading for this course, but if you would like to look in greater depth at the subject the following books are recommended:

• David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson. Film Art: An Introduction. 12^th Boston: McGraw Hill, 2019. Previous editions are also good.
• Pam Cook. The Cinema Book. London: BFI, 2007.
• Geoffrey Nowell-Smith. The Oxford History of World Cinema. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.
• Rob Stone, Paul Cooke, Stephanie Dennison, and Alex Marlow-Mann. The Routledge Companion to World Cinema. London and New York. Routledge, 2018.

Further optional reading material and suggestions will be provided by the tutor throughout the course.

Dr Eleonora Sammartino is an experienced teacher in Film Studies. In addition to Imperial College, she teaches at the University of Southampton and has previously taught at variety of institutions, including King’s College London, University of Reading, and University of Greenwich.

Eleonora gained her PhD in Film Studies at King’s College London in 2018, with a thesis on gender and the contemporary American film musical. She has worked for film festivals in Italy and UK and is currently part of the organising committee of FILL – Festival of Italian Literature in London, for which she has hosted film screenings.

Weeks	Standard Rate	Internal Rate	Associate Rate
20	Early Bird: £453 Full price: £503	Early Bird: £270 Full price: £300	Early Bird: £356 Full price: £396
All fee rates quoted are for the whole 2-term course. Early Bird rates available 1 August to 30 September 2023 only. Part-payments are not possible.

 

Rate Categories and Discounts

Standard Rate

• Available to all except those who fall under the Internal Rate or Associate Rate category.

Internal Rate

• Current Imperial College students and staff (incl. Imperial NHS Trust, Imperial Innovations, ancillary & service staff employed on long-term contracts at Imperial College by third-party contractors)
• People enrolling under our Friends & Family scheme
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• Students, staff and alumni of the Royal College of Art, Royal College of Music and City, UAL and the City and Guilds of London Art School
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Associate Rate

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It is possible to enrol on many of our adult education courses after the course has already started. For non-language courses this is subject entirely to agreement by the tutor. For language courses it is subject to agreement by the language coordinator conducting level assessment. If you want to join a course late do bear in mind there might be work you will need to catch up on, particularly in language courses.

Friends and Family Scheme

This course is eligible for allowing Imperial College students and staff to share their discount with their friends and family.

Web enrolment starts 1 August 2023. Early bird discounts are available from 1 August to 30 September 2023

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What is sent	When is it sent	What does it contain
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	If you need further help with the above information please ring 020 7594 8756 / +44 20 7594 8756. All enrolments are provisional until the course is confirmed to run. This will be dependent on the course reaching the minimum number of enrolments. All enrolments are subject to our Terms and Conditions. It is not possible to join one of our courses without agreeing to be bound by our Terms and Conditions.

If you have any questions about the academic content or teaching of this course please contact the Course Tutor, Dr Eleonora Sammartino, e.sammartino@imperial.ac.uk

If you have any questions about your enrolment or payment processes please contact the Programme Administrator, Christian Jacobi, eveningclass@imperial.ac.uk