By Kelly Fischer '08
Joanne Bernardi, associate professor of Japanese in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures, is the director of the College's Film and Media Studies Program. In a recent interview, Bernardi offered a closer look at the program's past and future, and discussed opportunities for students, including the upcoming Gollin Film Festival on May 5.
What is the history of film and media studies in the College, and how has the program changed over the years?
Film classes were being taught at the University as early as the 1960s by James Card. He is known as one of the first generation of film curators and actually started the Motion Picture Department at the George Eastman House. The Film Studies Program began to take shape in the 1970s. Professor of English Emeritus Richard Gollin, who retired in 1989, received a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to start the program officially in 1976. Film studies at the University began as an outgrowth of the English department, Professor Gollin's home base. The program, now independently administered, is housed on the fourth floor of Rush Rhees Library.
We try to integrate "theory" with "practicum," so the program now features two tracks for majors: film studies (nonproduction based) and media studies (production based), with a variety of courses taught by an interdisciplinary faculty from different departments and programs. Students also can minor in film and media studies, and we have many double majors.
The media component of the program was added in response to an increasing interest among students to learn more about film and video production and the different kinds of media, including electronic media used to capture and/or create visual images.
What types of professional opportunities are available to students in the program?
One of the things that is unique about the film and media studies major is that because of the inherent nature of the discipline, we try to be flexible about what courses students take. They can take five relevant electives that are either production (including theater and acting) or nonproduction (e.g., critical analysis, history, and theory) courses. For example, a film and media studies student can include in their major courses in creative writing, journalism, and/or studio arts, as well as courses in history, theory, or cultural studies that might focus on topics like race and gender. Because of this openness, students are very broadly educated and acquire knowledge that applies to a variety of professional fields.
Some of our students continue their studies in graduate programs, others have worked in the film industry and as independent filmmakers. Others have gone into ancillary professions of film and media such as public relations, journalism and broadcast media, image archiving, or film programming. One former student became the film programmer of the Dryden Theater at the George Eastman House and eventually film programmer for the American Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens, a prime location for film production in the United States before Hollywood.
In what ways do students and faculty benefit from a community resource like the George Eastman House?
We have a longstanding collaborative relationship with the George Eastman House and in any given semester have at least one undergraduate intern there. We also administer a George Eastman House Fellowship, which is a two-year appointment for a University graduate student doing film and media-related study to work in their Motion Picture Department.
As part of this collaborative relationship, faculty members are often allowed to teach classes there, aligning courses with Eastman House programming. Faculty also benefit from having access to the professional programming staff who can procure or research sources for specific film prints, sometimes located in their own collection. By doing the footwork, the staff help us obtain access to film prints that otherwise might be inaccessible. In addition to access to important research material, broader benefits to the University community include discount tickets to select screenings at the Dryden Theater.
This spring, students will have a chance to showcase their filmmaking skills as part of the first Gollin Film Festival on May 5. Where did the idea for a student film competition originate?
This competition gives students the chance to explore and gain skills in visual media production and is an example of the opportunities Rochester students have for interdisciplinary experiences. Undergraduate students have been invited to submit up to two works they created since enrolling at the University in formats such as mini-DV, VHS, DVD, and 16mm. Cash prizes will be presented to entries awarded first, second, and third place during a screening of the winning films on Friday, May 5, in Hoyt Auditorium. Works will be judged by a panel of four faculty members associated with the Film and Media Studies Program.
We decided the contest would most appropriately be named after Professor Gollin, who started the program, literally from scratch, and who continues to support the work we strive to do here.
Maintained by Office of Communications
Film and media studies offers 'broad education,' says Bernardi
Bernardi shares a laugh with students in Atomic Creatures: Godzilla, a course she teaches this spring.
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