Film Timetable and Courses

FILM 100

The Art of Motion Pictures

An introduction to the art of motion pictures. The course will examine a representative selection of films covering the history of cinema and many of its basic aesthetic premises.

FILM 101AA

Art of Mobile Photography

This course introduces students to the basics of mobile photography as a way to communicate ideas emphasizing content, composition, and technique.

FILM 200

Introduction to Film Production

Exploring the differences between photographic, film, video and audio processes, students will study the characteristics of these media through hands on assignments.
*Note: Restricted to Film majors.*
*Note: Creative Technologies Program Option.*
*Additional Fee: $150.*

FILM 201

Film Production 1

The course focuses on the development of practical techniques in film production.
***Prerequisite: FILM 100 and 200.***
**Corequisite: FILM 209. Permission of the Department Head is required to register.**
*Additional Fee: $150.*

FILM 202

Film Production 2

A continuation of Film 201.
***Prerequisite: A passing grade in FILM 201.***
*Additional Fee: $100.*

FILM 203

Animation

Basic principles, technical knowledge and a variety of animation techniques related to non-cell animation.
*Additional Fee: $100.*

FILM 205

Black and White Photography

Students will be introduced to the fundamentals of black and white photography and darkroom practices.
*Note: Students may receive credit for only one of FILM 205, ART 222, FILM 280AB, or FILM 385AC.*
*Additional Fee: $150.*

FILM 209

Technical Fundamentals

The course provides technical fundamentals for students entering the BFA program in film production, with a focus on developing solid technical understandings of cameras, lenses, lighting, audio, and editing.
***Prerequisite: FILM 200***
**Permission of the Department Head is required to register**
*Additional Fee: $100.*

FILM 210

Introduction to Screenwriting

Introducing the fundamentals of writing for the screen.

FILM 220

Technical Fundamentals

The course provides technical fundamentals for developing solid technical understandings of cameras, lenses, lighting, audio and editing.
*Note: The course is intended for NON Film majors. Students cannot receive credit for both Film 220 and Film 209*
*Additional Fee: $100.*

FILM 221

The Art of Podcasting

An introduction to the creative and technical aspects of creating a podcast. Students will develop, record and edit podcast episodes in a variety of genres. They will share their work via web pages and an RSS feed that can be accessed through various podcast clients.
*Note: Students may only receive credit for one of FILM 221 or FILM 280AD.*
*Additional Fee: $100.*

FILM 245

Genre

Examines the origin, evolution, function and theory of genres, including themes and styles.
*Note: Students may only receive credit for one of FILM 245 and FILM 380AR.*

FILM 253

Narratives for the Digital Age

This course examines narrative structures and traditions and their relevance for film, TV serials, computer games, and new media data-based story-telling.
*Note: Students may not receive credit for both FILM 251 and FILM 253*

FILM 254

Documenting Reality

This course offers an overview of the documentary genre in film, television and journalistic contexts. It will investigate the genre in terms of subject matter and style, historical origins, forms and conventions, and relationships to cultural contexts.
*Note: Students may not receive credit for both FILM 250 and FILM 254*

FILM 255

World Cinema

Examines international world cinemas with a focus on comparing the work of prominent directors from around the globe.

FILM 256

Underground Film

This course will introduce the most important developments in the history of experimental cinema. A discussion of international avant-garde films will be included, with a focus on the evolution of the avant-garde’s alternative techniques, themes modes of production and audiences.
*Note: Students may not receive credit for both FILM 340 and FILM 256*

FILM 286AA

Anime: Popular Animation from Japan

An introductory survey of Japanese animation produced from the 1970s to the 2010s. We will critically investigate the western scholarship on the subject as well as examine the global fan communities connected with the culture of Anime.

FILM 286AB

Women in Film

This course will examine films made by women, with a focus on mysteries, fantasies, social realism, and documentaries. The range of works will include independent shorts to big-budget blockbusters.
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of FILM 286AB or FILM 390AN.*

FILM 286AC

Cult Cinema

This course offers a critical insight into the sensational and downright weird films that came to be called 'cult cinema.' Focusing on notions such as popular culture, art-house and genre cinema, excess, camp, contexts of audience reception - the course examines what makes a film "CULT."

FILM 286AD

Aliens in Film

This course will examine the Alien, or Extra-Terrestrial, as the science-fiction film genre's exploration of identity. As a collective expression of desire for, and fear of, the Other, the Alien allegorizes common attitudes towards cultural difference, that partly overlap with Orientalist discourse.

FILM 286AE

The Revisionist Western

The Revisionist Western examines films from the 1960's to the present, which question the tropes, styles, themes and politics of the traditional Western genre for the purpose of contemporary social and cultural critique. Topics include colonial expansion and race, good versus evil, cowboy masculinity, and gender.

FILM 286AF

Warner Brothers Cartoons

This course will introduce students to films produced by the Warner Brothers animation department between 1930 and 1970. Topics will include the studio's institutional history, aesthetic and thematic characteristics, significant socio-historical contexts, reflexivity and intertextuality, and the representation of race, gender and class.

FILM 286AG

Genre-French Gangster Films

This course examines the history and evolution of the French gangster/crime thriller genre from the 1930s onward. It situates the genre within its cultural context, exploring its frameworks of production and reception, its visual and narrative signatures, themes, and national and transnational influences and modes of expression.

FILM 300

Film Production 3

The course focuses on creative techniques and approaches in film production.
***Prerequisite: FILM 202.***
*Additional Fee: $150.*

FILM 301

Film Production 4

Introduction to documentary film practice.
***Prerequisite: FILM 300.***
*Additional Fee: $150.*

FILM 303

Advanced Animation

An advanced exploration of the animated image, bringing together diverse and traditional digital approaches including audio.
***Prerequisite: FILM 203.***
*Additional Fee: $100.*

FILM 305

Cinematography

A study of the electronic and photochemical imaging techniques, and lighting, for film.
***Prerequisite: FILM 202.***
*Additional Fee: $100.*

FILM 306

Post Production

Post-production processes and techniques in film production.
***Prerequisite: FILM 202.***
*Additional Fee: $100.*

FILM 307

Advanced Audio Production

The creative use of sound is studied across disciplines with a mixture of theory, history, and practical components.
***Prerequisite: FILM 202.***
*Additional Fee: $100.*

FILM 310

Writing for the Screen

The course expands on the knowledge and focuses on the creativity of writing for the screen.
***Prerequisite: FILM 202 or FILM 210***

FILM 311

Advanced Darkroom Photography

An advanced course in photo-chemical photography and darkroom techniques.
***Prerequisite: FILM 205 or FILM 280AB.***
*Additional Fee: $150.*

FILM 312

Advanced Digital Effects

The course focuses on the creation of digital effects in post-production. Students will work with software like Adobe Photoshop, After Effects and Premier, among other software tools.
***Prerequisite: FILM 209 or FILM 220 or CTCH 211 or CTCH 214.***
*Additional Fee: $100.*

FILM 320

Expanded Cinema

This course is designed for students to explore works that alter and reconfigure the familiar cinematic materials, forms, and spaces of conventional filmmaking. Collaborative and self-initiated projects with emphasis on developing conceptual skills and engagement with the process of critique.
***Prerequisite: FILM 202.***
*Note: Students may only receive credit for one of FILM 320 or FILM 386AB.*
*Additional Fee: $100.*

FILM 345

Canadian Cinema

Examines Canadian cinema from early work of the National Film Board to present-day international feature co-production. Treats the development of Quebec cinema and the films of many Canadian directors.
*** Prerequisite: Completion of 30 credit hours or permission of the Department Head. ***

FILM 348

Thinking about Film

The development of film theory and criticism from the silent period to the present. Major writings in silent film theory, montage theory, realism, auteurism, semiotics, psychoanalytic and spectatorship theories will be investigated.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 30 credit hours***

FILM 350

The Art of Film Directors

Examines the work of no more than two directors, with particular attention given to style, historical and cultural influences on the filmmaker, and the manner in which the work has influenced others.
*** Prerequisite: 30 Credit Hours or permission of the Department Head ***

FILM 380AH

Film Genre Theory

This course will address a number of key issues in the theory of film genre, including the history of genre theory, the origin and evolution of genres, thematic and stylistic parameters, the commercial and ideological functions of genres, generic hybrids and the role of the viewer.

FILM 380AI

The Cinema of Singapore

An introduction to the history of film in Singapore, this course will exemplify the cultural impact of political change in South-East Asia following the Second World War, including the transition from Malay to Chinese-language filmmaking after Singapore achieved political independence in 1965.
*** Prerequisite: FILM 251 ***

FILM 380AJ

Traditions in Animation

This course will introduce aesthetics, modes of production, themes, audiences and political developments in the history of animation with a focus on four traditions: Walt Disney, Japanese anime, the National Film Board of Canda, and Eastern Europe.
***Prerequisite: FILM 100***
*Note: Students may only receive credit for one of FILM 380AJ and FILM 480BN.*

FILM 380AO

African Cinema

This course offers an overview of African filmmaking practices and the political and social issues that have become central to African cinema. The course will expose students to the major directors of African cinema, and the aesthetic and narrative concerns of various regional cinemas of Africa.

FILM 380AP

Indigeneity in Film

This course will examine the representations of First nations people by Indigenous and non-Indigenous filmmakers. Topics will include the construction of non-Indigenous identities, exoticism and otherness, tradition and moderity.

FILM 380AQ

Indigenous Voices in World Film

This course looks at how films produced in various parts of the world reflect Indigenous narratives and critical discourses, local and global issues, how they are understood by Indigenous, international and diasporic audiences, and how they exist within a transnational understanding of film language, production and exhibition.

FILM 380AR

Genre

Examines the origin, evolution, function and theory of genres, including themes and styles.
*Note: Students may only receive credit for one of FILM 245 and FILM 380AR.*

FILM 380AS

Cinema and Performance

This course investigates the relationship between cinema and performance. Using performance as a lens and tool to study and represent the world, the course will focus on one of the following: cinema and acting, cinema and walking, cinema and dance, cinema and music, cinema and sports, cinema and religious ritual, etc.

FILM 386AC

Film Festival Administration

The course focuses on the planning, programming and presentation of the Living Skies Student Film Festival.
**Permission of the Department Head is required to register.**

FILM 386AE

Aliens in Film

This course will examine the Alien, or Extra-Terrestrial, as the science-fiction film genre's exploration of identity. As a collective expression of desire for, and fear of, the Other, the Alien allegorizes common attitudes towards cultural difference, that partly overlap with Orientalist discourse.

FILM 386AF

Lensing Culture: Ethnographic Filmmaking

Building toward a critical and/or investigative approach to an aspect of culture, class discussions, assignments and readings focus on issues of ethics, self-reflexivity, production, post-production and distribution of film projects, interview techniques, and ethnographic modes of inquiry.
***Prerequisite: FILM 200.***
*Additional Fee: $100.*

FILM 386AG

The Photo Essay

This course will examine the approaches of creating a photo essay, developing writing skills and learning how to create, select, and edit photographic images.
***Prerequisite: FILM 205.***

FILM 390AJ

Aboriginal Cinema In Canada

This course will survey current issues in Aboriginal filmmaking in Canada with a focus on theoretical approaches such as identity formation, post-colonialism, and feminist perspectives.

FILM 390AN

Women in Film

This course will investigate contemporary women filmmakers, focusing on authorship and gender through a feminist lens.
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of FILM 390AN or FILM 286AB.*

FILM 400

Senior Production l

Advanced course incorporating development, research and production.
***Prerequisite: FILM 301.***
*Additional Fee: $175.*

FILM 401

Senior Production ll

A continuation of FILM 400 in which students will produce a major production.
***Prerequisite: FILM 400.***
*Additional Fee: $175.*

FILM 403

Producing for Film

Examining the creative, organizational, and managerial roles of the producer.
***Prerequisite: FILM 301.***
*Additional Fee: $100.*

FILM 404

Advanced Animation II

Students will specialize in an animation technique of their choice and focus on creating a single-animated project.
***Prerequisite: FILM 303.***
*Note: students may receive credit for one of FILM 486AV or FILM 404.*

FILM 410

Senior Screenwriting

The course builds on the screenwriting skills developed in Film 310, and allows students to pursue more ambitious writing projects for screens (Film/TV/Web) across a range of genres.
***Prerequisite: Film 310***

FILM 411

Directing the Dramatic Film

Concentrated focus on the director's role and working relationship with actors, crew, and script.
***Prerequisite: FILM 202.***
*Additional Fee: $100.*

FILM 412

Directing the Experimental Film

Engaged creation of a diverse range of film and video as experimental form.
***Prerequisite: FILM 300.***
*Additional Fee: $100.*

FILM 413

Directing the Documentary

Advanced methods of documentary production.
***Prerequisite: FILM 301.***
*Additional Fee: $100.*

FILM 480AC

Photography and Film

This course will focus on the technological, aestethic and ideological relationships between photography and film. Topics will include realism, reflexivity, and the influence of photography on film. Students will apply the theories of Andre Bazin, Roland Barthes, and others to films such as "Blow-Up: and La Jetee". *** Prerequisite: Any 300-level film and video studies course. ***

FILM 480AE

Theories of Authorship

This course's goal will be to discuss the theoretical assumptions underlying the auteur approach to studying and interpreting films. Topics will include romantic theory, the intentional fallacy, auteur-structuralism, intertextuality, enunciation, the author in a commercial context, etc.
*** Prerequisite: Any 300-level film and video studies course. ***

FILM 480AF

Cronenberg

David Cronenberg is Canada's foremost auteur, celebrated as a taboo-breaking genius by his fans and dismissed as a dangerous pervert by his detractors. This seminar examines his idiosyncratic films as they challenge the boundaries of genre, gender, and good taste in their explorations of mind and body, desire, the technologies of modernity, and the limits of human existence.

FILM 480AI

Post-Soviet Russian Cinema

This senior course examines the most recent developments in Russian cinema in the context of national cinema discourse, and investigates issues of film production, film aesthetics, national belonging and gender identities. The seminar discussions are organized around weekly screenings of new Russian films.
*** Prerequisite: One course from FILM 345, 346, 348, 350, or 380AA-ZZ, or permission of the Department Head. ***

FILM 480AL

Kubrick: Photography and Film

Filmmaker Stanley Kubrick's work as a photojournalist for Look magazine in the late forties influenced his development as a visual story-teller. This course will focus on the narrative aspects of his photo-essays and the photographic aspects of his films.
*** Prerequisite: Any 300-level film and video studies course. ***

FILM 480AN

French New Wave

This course offers an introduction to French New Wave (1959-1969) in light of the most recent critical studies of its historical and stylistic aspects. It focuses on prominent New Wave directors (Truffaut, Godard, Chabrol, Rivette, Rohmer, Varda, Resnais, Melville) as well as on the world-wide influence of their works.

FILM 480AO

Horror And Mysticism On Film

This senior course focuses on the horror genre from historical perspective and in the context of narrative, anthropological and psychoanalytical theories. The seminar discussions are organized around weekly screenings of early representative works of mystery and mysticism on film through Hitchcodk to the latest developments in the psychological and slasher sub-genres.

FILM 480AR

Film Music Theory

This course will examine music's contribution to the movie soundtrack from narratological, psychological and aesthetic perspectives. Exploring these theories of film music will provide students with analytical tools allowing them to describe and discuss the forms and functions of a traditionally "ineffable" aspect of film.
*** Prerequisite: Film 100 ***

FILM 480AS

Godard

Designed as homage to the legacies of the great film director Jean-Luc Godard, this course features a representative selection of films, which facilitate the discussion of his influence on film aesthetics and the politics of representation, as well as in such diverse spheres as music, dance, philosophy, and new media.

FILM 480AV

Censorship and Propoganda in the Media

This course will introduce students to an interdisciplinary critical approach to the study of (self) censorship, propaganda and persuasion in the media on the basis of films, posters, and other artifacts from the early 20th century to the present.

FILM 480AW

Orientalism

Using the Southeast Asian City-State of Singapore as a case study, this course will examine historical, theoretical and aesthetic dimensions of Orientalism in fim and television, i.e. Western representations of the East.

FILM 480AY

Cinematic Cities

This is an advanced course exploring questions of the relationship between the city and cinema in modern and postmodern contexts.

FILM 480AZ

Theorizing Small Cinemas

This course will examine the ongoing aesthetic, economic and political existence of various "small cinemas," such as the cinemas of small nation-states, Edison's Nickelodeon, the cinemas of ethnic and religious minorities, experimental film, the cinemas of closed communities and the cinemas of international struggle and resistance, etc.

*** Prerequisite: Any 300-level film and video studies course, or permission of instructor. ***

FILM 480BB

Post-Colonialism in Film

This course will examine the enduring legacy of colonialism in filmic representations of South-East Asia, both from Euro-American and Asian producers.

FILM 480BF

Jungian Archetypes in Film & New Media

This advanced undergraduate seminar course focuses on aspects of C.G. Jung's analytical psychology, with an emphasis on his theory of archetypes and their applicability to contemporary cinema, computer games, and the media.

FILM 480BH

Advanced Documentary Studies

This course will investigate advanced topics in documentary studies, and could include topics such as contemporary questions of nation, identity, politics, environment, etc.

FILM 480BJ

Advanced Expanded Cinema

This course engages in advanced theories and concepts of expanded cinema. Topics could include performing the self in social media; archiving the self; film and new media in the gallery space; art and immersion; expanded cinema as expanded consciousness; artists as case studies, etc.

FILM 480BK

Arab Cinema

This course offers an overview of Arab filmmaking practices and the political and social issues that have become central to Arab cinema. The course will expose students to the major directors of Arab cinema, and the historical, ideological, aesthetic and narrative concerns of their films.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 30 credit hours***

FILM 480BL

Afrofuturism

This course will examine Afrofuturism in films from around the world. Focussing on themes and concerns of the African diaspora through a technoculture and science fiction lens, the course will explore a range of media artists with a shared interest in envisioning black futures that stem from Afrodiasporic experiences.

FILM 480BM

Atom Egoyan's Diasporic Cinema

This course explores the narrative features and lens-based film installation work of Atom Egoyan, one of Canada's most famous cinematic auteurs.

FILM 480BN

Traditions in Animation

This senior seminar course will introduce important aesthetic, thematic and political developments in the history of animation cinema, its modes of production and audiences, focusing on four major traditions: Walt Disney and the Japanese animé, Canadian NFB, and the (Eastern) European school of animation.
*Note: Students may only receive credit for one of FILM 380AJ and FILM 480BN.*

FILM 480BO

Horror and Indigenous Mysticism

In light of Jungian, Freudian, and Lacanian approaches, and on the basis of studies in comparative mythology and religion, this senior seminar course examines the indigenous roots of cinematic tropes of horror and mysticism.

FILM 480BP

Transnational Screens

This course focuses on the interface between global and local, national and transnational production and reception contexts of cinema mostly from the global south. The course will look at non-Eurocentric approaches to reading transnational films within debates and influences of postnationalism, postcolonialism, Third cinema, and intercultural contact zones.

FILM 481AC

Science Fiction Film

This course serves as an introduction to the theory of science fiction and of genre. An attempt will be made to circumscribe the science fiction genre by defining its main features, and examining some representative films which may or may not challenge that initial definition.

FILM 486AS

Film Festival Administration

The course focuses on the planning, programming and presentation of the National Student Film Festival. **Permission of the Department Head is required to register**

FILM 486AY

Advanced Film Directing

A personalized course of study with a focus on film directing.

FILM 486AZ

Long-form film production

Students will work together in creative and hands-on capacities to develop and create a serial-style narrative film headed by the course instructor. Professional tools and strategies and a hierarchical production model will be employed.
*Additional Fee: $100.*

FILM 490AK

Honours Thesis Comic Book Films

This Honours Thesis course will explore gender in comic book films.

FILM 492AE

Film Festivals: Cultures and Curations

This course examines the proliferation of film festivals around the world as integrally tied to changes in geopolitical and digital media cultures. It will use several different festivals as sites of analysis to ascertain festival mandates and themes, curatorial strategies and programming, cross platform exhibition, marketing, funding and outreach.

FILM 496AY

Feature Film Screenwriting

In collaboration with the instructor and a fellow directed studies student, the student will create a feature film screenplay based on an existing treatment.

FILM 804

Critical Investigations in film

This course focuses on theoretical approaches to cinema and new media from aesthetic, cultural, anthropological, psychological and sociological viewpoints. It provides an understanding of the interrelationship between film/film-making and reality, other media arts, and the audience. Topics include Post-Colonialism, Orientalism, Art/Film Installation, Expanded Cinema, Narrative Theory, Arab/ African Cinema, Censorship, Propaganda /Surveillance, Psychoanalysis.

FILM 810AB

Traditions in Film Narrative

This course will examine a wide range of narrative styles in film. Drawing on close readings of narrative and aesthetic strategies, the course will focus on how narrative structure of films create meaning.

FILM 810AH

Cultural Identities

This course will investigate how cultural identities are constructed in national media. A variety of media forms and texts will be investigated including film, television and new media.

FILM 810AN

Identities in a Global Context

This course will investigate questions of personal identity and subjectivity in a global context, drawing on contemporary readings in identity formation as it relates to the diaspora, hybridity, flaneurie, space, heterotopia, and dialogism.

FILM 810AS

Canadian Cultural Identities

This course will investigate contemporary Canadian cultural identities. It will use paradigms from Canadian Studies and Cultural Studies to focus on questions of race, gender, post colonialism, regionalism and immigration in Canadian popular culture.

FILM 810AT

Investigations in New Media

This course will situate, analyze and investigate new media in the context of contemporary theoretical and methodological debates. Areas of focus will examine new media aesthetics and technologies through socio-cultural, historical and political concepts, such as race, gender, postmodernism and postcolonialism.

FILM 810AX

(Self) Censorship and Artistic Creativity

This course examines the paradoxical relationship between self and officially-imposed censorship and artistic creativity. Close analyses of contemporary and historical artefacts from aesthetic, ideological and cultural point of view will reveal the complex and multi-layered nature of the (self) censorship phenomenon and its impact on artistic creativity.

FILM 810AZ

Curating the Moving Image

This course will explore curating, programming and working with artists’ moving images as well as the broader practice of curating artists’ film and video in the contexts of the cinema, festival, gallery and museum.

FILM 810BA

Orientalism in Film

This course examines historical, theoretical and aesthetic dimensions of orientalism in film and television, that is, Western representations of the East. The Asian city of Singapore provides a case study for reflections by authors such as Edward Said and Homay King on topics like self-orientalism and techno-orientalism.

FILM 810BC

Propaganda and Censorship

This graduate course examines the complex - even paradoxical -- relationship between film/media arts, and propaganda, surveillance, (self) censorship and conspiracy theories through the conceptual grid, provided by J. Ellul, M. Foucault, G. Jowett, D.R. Carter, S. Zizek, Z. Bauman and other major media scholars.

FILM 810BD

Sci-Fi Orientalism

This seminar will examine the extent to which the science fiction film genre may be considered an allegorical form of orientalism. The critical concept of techno-orientalism and the category of the alien will merit special attention in assessing the SF genre's exploration of identity.

FILM 810BE

Jung/Psy-analysis/Shakespeare-Advanced

This advanced seminar course offers unique opportunities to explore archetype, myth, dreams and in-depth aspects of the psyche on the basis of four Shakespearean plays, and in light of the analytical psychology of C.G. Jung and his neo-Jungian followers. The class group discussion entails downloadable readings, photography, and websites.

FILM 810BF

Polytheistic Motifs in World Cinema of Horror and Mysticism

The reading graduate course offers an in-depth study of polytheistic motifs in world cinema in light of Jungian and post-Jungian approaches, and on the basis of studies in comparative mythology, anthropology and religion.

FILM 810BG

Cinema of War: A critical, aesthetic, & cultural study of dramatic war films from 1900 to present

A study of war film throughout history with a focus on the tropes of war and how they have changed since 1900. A collection of current and historical dramatic methodologies, and cultural contexts.

FILM 820AG

Multi-Media Design

The course will encompass multi-channel audio soundscape and interactive design. The student will expand both knowledge and skills in multi-channel audio soundscape creation and explore software which can be purposed in facilitating human interaction within a digital media environment.

FILM 820AJ

Production Management

The course will develop the student's understanding of the logistical requirements of a dramatic feature film production, including the development of a detailed production schedule and budget.

FILM 820AP

The Foundation of Screenplay

The course explores the practical application of screenwriting theory. Focusing on plot, character, ideology and dialogue as a means of artistic expression, the course will focus on the writing of a feature-length screenplay and a comparative analysis of key screenwriting theorists.

FILM 820AU

Animation

This course is to engage in the creation of a diverse range of animation techniques. Traditional and computer-based approaches will be viewed and workshopped. Critical discourse of animation will also be discussed. Projects are structured to develop experience and appreciation for the range and history of animation.

FILM 820AW

Advanced Documentary Development

This course will supervise the research and development phases of a documentary film. The course will focus on the practical aspects of documentary research, development and production as well as the theoretical and historical aspects of the documentary.

FILM 820BC

Film Production

Students will produce a short film on any genre. Assignments are based on their work through the stages of scriptwriting, production and post-production to completion of film.

FILM 820BD

Analog Filmmaking

Students will explore emulsion-based filmmaking in multiple film gauges and will investigate orthodox and unorthodox methods of film development and presentation. Early traditions in emulsion creation will be discussed and demonstrated.

FILM 820BF

Media and Mixed Abilities

This course incorporates aspects of media studies and production to guide investigation into issues of disability, accessibility, and their representation in various forms of media.

FILM 820BG

Film, Methodologies, Theory

Tailored to graduate studies or production thesis goals, this course integrates scholarly readings, writing, film analysis, film production, methodologies and/or theory for course content and assignments.

FILM 830

Production Studio

These courses bring together all students in the MFA Film Production program to work independently and collaboratively on creative aspects of film production.

FILM 831

Production Studio

These courses bring together all students in the MFA Film Production program to work independently and collaboratively on creative aspects of film production.

FILM 890AB

Contemporary Film Semiology

This course will survey the various theoretical approaches developed by film semiologists since the publication of Christian Metz "Langage et cinema" in 1971, and also to explore film semiology beyond what is included in the undergraduate course on film theory.

FILM 890AL

Jungian Archetypes in Film and Media

This graduate course focuses on aspects of C.G. Jung's analytical psychology, with an emphasis on his theory of archetypes and their applicability to contemporary film and media.

FILM 890AT

Writing for Film

The course focuses on the processes of creative writing for film.

FILM 890AW

Expanded Cinema in the Field

This course enables hands-on examination of lens-based installation work at leading international museums, archives and sites in the field. Possible venues include ZKM Media Centre (Germany), Hamburger Banhof Museum (Germany), Eye Amsterdam (Holland), Walker Museum (Minneapolis), TIFF Bell Lightbox, among others.

FILM 890AX

Indigenous Mysticism in Film

In light of Jungian and post-Jungian approaches, and on the basis of studies in comparative mythology and religion, this graduate course examines the indigenous roots of cinematic tropes of horror and mysticism.

FILM 890AY

Female Body Horror

In light of Freudian, Lacanian, and (post) Jungian approaches, and on the basis of their application to literary and cinematic aftifacts, this graduate course examines the phenomenology of female body horror.

FILM 890AZ

Between the Frames

A study of the relationships between cinema, graphic arts, photography, animation, and photo-cinema.

FILM 890BA

Psycho-Somatic Approaches to Film Bodies and Psyches

This seminar graduate course focuses on various aspects of (post) Freudian and (post) Jungian scholarship, more particularly on studies of haptic visuality and (psycho) somatic cinematic experiences, involving the female body and its senses.

FILM 890BB

Narratives and Narrativity

This directed studies courses examines and explores narrative structures, traditions and techniques, and their relevance for new approaches to filmmaking.

FILM 890BC

Traditions in Animation

This seminar course introduces important aesthetic, thematic and theoretical developments in the history of animation cinema, and its modes of production, focusing on four major traditions: Disney, the Japanese animé, Canadian NFB, and the Eastern Europeans. The highlight of the course are ZOOM lectures by prominent experts in the field.

FILM 890BD

Personal Cinema

The course focuses on explorations in personal cinema.

FILM 890BE

Transnational Screens

This course will investigate transnational methodologies in the expression and safeguarding of living cultural heritage through screen media practices and propose reflections on current debates around identity politics in globalizing cultures, political and cultural sovereignty, control of representation in image production, and modes of resistance to colonialism.

FILM 890BF

Deconstructing the Psychological Science Fiction Thriller Film

An in-depth exploration of the Psychological Science Fiction Thriller genre in film.

FILM 901

Thesis Research

Research supporting film studies resulting in the writing and defense of a graduating thesis of 60-100 pages.

FILM 902

Research Project

Research supporting film production resulting in the writing of the comprehensive critical engagement paper of 25-30 pages, preparation and public presentation of graduating film production project.