ENGFLM

The Pittsburgh-Los Angeles Film Program aims to give a unique exposure to various aspects of the entertainment industry, building on Pitt Film and Media program’s desire to offer “a liberal arts education with professional outcomes.”   The program will include a three credit course on the American Film Industry which will be taught two evenings a week, leaving students free to get internship and production opportunities during the day.  It will feature guest speakers including top film and television producers, directors, writers, agents, and executives.For the class, students will be required to do a project which is reflective of what they learn during the course of this month about the world of film and television. 

This course examines contemporary Australian cinema and its attempt to describe a uniquely Australian identity. The course thus has two interrelated points of inquiry. First, we will attempt to appreciate the context of Australian cinema – from modes of production to distribution. Second, the course will investigate the notion of an Australian identity as it is expressed in some of the most significant films in the Australian tradition. We will look at Australian genre cinema, the 70s Renaissance and recent transformations in the Australian film industry. The course will focus specifically on the theme of national identity and the growing debates around what constitutes a national cinema. Indeed, a question to be explored is the extent to which Australian films have reflected or determined Australian values. Comparisons with appropriate U.S. values and films are encouraged. 

The 1990s and 2000s saw the British film industry undergo a number of dramatic changes. From an all-time low at the end of 1980s, during the early 1990s British cinema entered a period of confidence and success that was mirrored by a major structural and financial reorganization. The course will chart the development of British film during the period 1994-2010 through the critical study of key films, and will examine the way that these films both emerge from and transform the earlier British cinema tradition. Readings will focus on the critical reception of the films and the manner in which they have been absorbed into the canon. There will also be particular focus on the political and social context of the films.