Kazan Centennial Launches Sept. 12

The Department of Film Studies Elia Kazan Centennial, which opens Saturday, Sept. 12, was the focus of a feature in The Hartford Courant. A seminal director and founder of the Actors Studio, Kazan was both a brilliant and influential figure in film. He was also surrounded by controversy during his career, especially during the 1950s and the investigations by House of Representatives Un-American Activities Committee. Kazan was also a “fixture” at Wesleyan, where he often came to write and speak to the classes of Jeanine Basinger, Chair and Corwin-Fuller Professor of Film Studies. His personal papers reside in the Wesleyan Film Archives. The Elia Kazan Centennial celebration at Wesleyan will run through December and feature a variety of screenings and presentations on his work.