Cullman Center Institute for Teachers: Political Cinema and the “Other”

Event Details

THIS IS A WEEK-LONG SEMINAR (MONDAY JULY 22 - FRIDAY JULY 26)

SHIMON DOTAN, Instructor

Representations of the “other” are central to identity. In times of political conflict, our constructs of the “other” become rallying cries. This seminar is designed for teachers interested in contemporary politics, history, filmmaking, and film criticism. We will ask: How do filmmakers fight against or reinforce prevailing representations of an enemy? We will also investigate how the “other” is constructed -- politically, aesthetically, and ethically -- in Battleship Potemkim (Sergei Eisenstein, Soviet Union, 1925); Triumph of the Will; (Leni Riefensthal, Germany, 1934); The Battle of Algiers (Gillo Pontecorvo, France, 1966); Taxi to the Dark Side (Alex Gibney, US,  2007); and Waltz with Bashir (Ari Folman, Israel, 2008).
 
Shimon Dotan is a film director and screenwriter whose films include Hot House, The Smile of the Lamb, and You Can Thank Me Later. He has won the Special Jury Prize at Sundance, the Silver Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival, and two Israeli Academy Awards. Dotan is a professor at New York University and The New School, where he teaches Political Cinema and Film Directing, respectively. At the Cullman Center, he is working on a script for a feature film about Theodor Herzl, the founder of Zionism.
 
WE ARE NO LONGER ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR OUR 2013 SUMMER SEMINARS.