Model Composes Music for Silent Films

Ben Model, visiting assistant professor of film, is spending the summer months composing scores and arranging music with the Frederick Symphony Orchestra in Frederick, Maryland. Model, a silent film accompanist, performs on both piano and theater organ. The orchestra will perform a concert on July 20 at Baker Park in Maryland, including Charlie Chaplin's The Immigrant; Buster Keaton's Cops; and Felix the Cat in Pedigreedy. Model also is performing live music this summer, including a Leo McCarry retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art; at a festival in South Korea in August; and a silent movie festival in Northern Norway in early September. Learn more about Model online…

Jeanine Basinger, Corwin-Fuller Professor of Film Studies, was recently featured in a Hollywood Reporter article “The Professor of Hollywood,” by film historian and best-selling author Sam Wasson ’03, who studied with Basinger at Wesleyan. The magazine brought together 33 of her former pupils who work prominently in the film industry for “an A-list class reunion” photo—and several of them talk about how Basinger inspired them, encouraging their self-expression while also sharing with them her love for the medium. In the article, Basinger discusses how and why she came to devote her life to the study of film and how working…

On Thursdays in September and October, Wesleyan is hosting a four-part Hispanic Film Series showcasing the power and artistry of contemporary Latin American and Spanish film. All films will be shown at 8 p.m. in the Goldsmith Family Cinema, and are free and open to the public. The series is sponsored by the Thomas and Catharine McMahon Fund, the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, and the Latin American Studies Program. The films being shown are as follows: Sept. 24–Relatos Salvajes (Wild Tales) Oct. 1–Mosquita Y Mari Oct. 8–La Isla Mínima (Marshland) Oct. 15–Hotel Nueva Isla More details on each film…

Jeanine Basinger, the Corwin-Fuller Professor of Film Studies, curator of the Cinema Archives, spoke with The Huffington Post about why today's television is so good. TV has come a long way since 1961 when Federal Communications Commission Chairman Newton Minow proclaimed television "a vast wasteland" in an address to the National Association of Broadcasters. The article explores how advances in technology and television production have vastly improved the experience for viewers. One of the biggest changes was the introduction of DVR and streaming services, which mean we're no longer slaves to the television schedule, required to sit on the couch for an hour when…

This July, Wesleyan's 2015 Summer Film Series presents "Hollywood Icons: Jimmy Stewart," a four-film series sponsored by Wesleyan's College of Film and the Moving Image (CFILM). Films will be shown at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays in July at the Center for Film Studies. All films are free and open to the public and will be preceded by an introduction by Marc Longenecker, CFILM's programming and technical director. The "Hollywood Icons: Jimmy Stewart" film series includes Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (July 7), Harvey (July 14), Rear Window (July 21), and Winchester '73 (July 28). See Wesleyan's Summer Film Series website for more information.

In its most recent meeting, the Board of Trustees conferred tenure on Hari Krishnan, associate professor of dance. He joins seven other faculty members who were awarded tenure earlier this spring. In addition, seven faculty members were promoted to Full Professor: Mary Alice Haddad, professor of government; Scott Higgins, professor of film studies; Tsampikos Kottos, professor of physics; Edward Moran, professor of astronomy; Dana Royer, professor of earth and environmental sciences; Mary-Jane Rubenstein, professor of religion; and Gina Athena Ulysse, professor of anthropology. Brief descriptions of their research and teaching appear below. Associate Professor Krishnan teaches studio- and lecture-based dance courses on Mobilizing Dance: Cinema, the Body, and Culture…

Though movie sequels had been successful in the past, it was a huge surprise when The Empire Strikes Back turned out to be as popular as the original Star Wars film, Jeanine Basinger, the Corwin-Fuller Professor of Film Studies, told the website Boing Boing for a story reflecting on Empire 35 years after it arrived in cinemas. “When you have set a level that you set with Star Wars in terms of financial success, critical success, audience success, quality of production, greatness of storytelling, you don’t really think even if the second one is going to be good that it can hit that same level twice…

Members of the Wesleyan Film Project's Screenwriters Lounge gathered at the Shapiro Creative Writing Center's library Feb. 16 to discuss current projects. The Wesleyan Film Project is a student-run group that formed during the fall semester 2014 and supports filmmaking on campus. During Screenwriter's Lounge sessions the students meet with each other, writers, directors and producers to review student-submitted scripts in order to prepare them for production. For more information on the group, visit the Wesleyan Film Project on Facebook. Photos of the Screenwriters Lounge gathering are below: (Photos by John Van Vlack) (more…)

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"Hollywood Icons: Audrey Hepburn" is the theme of Wesleyan's Summer Film Series, sponsored by the College of Film and the Moving Image (CFILM). All four films, featuring Oscar-award winning actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993), take place at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays in July. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. for the accompanying "Posters From the Collection" exhibition in the Rick Nicita Gallery. All films will begin with an introduction by Marc Longenecker, CFILM programming and technical director. All films are open to the public and are free of charge. The films include: Roman Holiday on July 8; Sabrina on July 15; Breakfast…

Always wanted to take a course with legendary film professor Jeanine Basinger? Miss the first run of Professor of Psychology Scott Plous’ wildly popular “Social Psychology” MOOC? Now’s your chance! The next round of Wesleyan’s massive open online courses (MOOCs) is starting up this month, with “Marriage in the Movies: A History” launching April 21. Basinger, the Corwin-Fuller Professor of Film Studies, is teaching the course based on her book, I Do and I Don’t: A History of Marriage in the Movies. “This is essentially a descriptive course on stories and stars and business strategies,” says Basinger, who is also…

Model Composes Music for Silent Films

Basinger Praised as Iconic Film Professor in The Hollywood Reporter

Hispanic Film Series Playing in Goldsmith Family Cinema

Basinger Comments on Why Today’s TV is So Good

Jimmy Stewart Stars in Free Summer Film Series

7 Faculty Promoted, 1 Awarded Tenure

Basinger Reflects on Star Wars Sequel Success

Screenwriters Lounge Supports Student Filmmaking on Campus

A. O. Scott Moderates Talk on Arts Criticism

Garcia ’88 Leads Dwight Greene Symposium, Screens New Basketball Documentary

Audrey Hepburn Stars in July’s Summer Film Series

Wesleyan’s Coursera Classes Begin April 21 with Basinger’s “Marriage in the Movies”