Power of Programming: The History and Theory of Film Curation

Emma Dreyfuss, Oberlin CollegeFollow

Location

King Building 237

Document Type

Presentation

Start Date

4-27-2019 4:00 PM

End Date

4-27-2019 5:20 PM

Abstract

This project traces the development of art house and repertory theaters through a case study of The Passion of Joan of Arc and its print history. Throughout this history, we can observe the ways that institutions use films like Joan of Arc to promote the idea of cinema as an art form. As the story unfolds, themes of audience participation, atmospheric cultivation, and creative curation develop as early film programmers struggle to justify film’s aesthetic value and present these works as objects worthy of study and preservation. As concepts of film art become more mainstream, curators must contend with artistic purism, institutional restraints, and market incentives. In the second section of the project, I turn my gaze to the contemporary cinematic moment and ask what art cinema curation looks like in an age of digital access.

Keywords:

Curation, Film History, Film Institutions, Digital Curation, Art Communities

Notes

Session VI, Panel 16 - Cinema | Studies
Moderator: Joseph Lubben, Associate Professor of Music Theory

Major

Cinema Studies; English

Advisor(s)

William Patrick Day, Cinema Studies

Project Mentor(s)

William Patrick Day, Cinema Studies

April 2019

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Apr 27th, 4:00 PM Apr 27th, 5:20 PM

Power of Programming: The History and Theory of Film Curation

King Building 237

This project traces the development of art house and repertory theaters through a case study of The Passion of Joan of Arc and its print history. Throughout this history, we can observe the ways that institutions use films like Joan of Arc to promote the idea of cinema as an art form. As the story unfolds, themes of audience participation, atmospheric cultivation, and creative curation develop as early film programmers struggle to justify film’s aesthetic value and present these works as objects worthy of study and preservation. As concepts of film art become more mainstream, curators must contend with artistic purism, institutional restraints, and market incentives. In the second section of the project, I turn my gaze to the contemporary cinematic moment and ask what art cinema curation looks like in an age of digital access.