History and Memory in Contemporary Latin American and European Cinema

In this survey course, discover or rediscover groundbreaking contemporary Latin American and European films that contribute to the construction of collective memory and the national politics of remembrance. Each week, we will look at different styles and genres from critically acclaimed filmmakers and search through archives, testimonies, and texts for the true events behind the fiction. Our aim will be to explore the role of cinema in revisiting the past and redesigning contemporary national identities by thoroughly analyzing the adaptation techniques and aesthetics used to impact both a national and international audience. You watch the films on your own, and then we meet online for lively and informative discussions. Films may include 120 Beats Per Minute (Robin Campillo, France), Hunger (Steve McQueen, UK), The Magdalene Sisters (Peter Mullan, Ireland), Machuca (Andrés Wood, Chile), Phoenix (Christian Petzold, Germany), Aquarius (Kleber Mendonça Filho, Brazil), La Ciénaga (Lucrecia Martel, Argentina), Butterfly (José Luis Cuerda, Spain), and Embrace of the Serpent (Ciro Guerra, Colombia).

More details