Indiana University Cinema

Amarcord and the Semi-Autobiographical Childhood Memory Piece

Posted on April 15, 2021 by Jesse Pasternack

Poster for Amarcord (1973) — Poster for *Amarcord* (1973)

Federico Fellini is famous for inventing the “self-portrait” genre of filmmaking. His 1961 masterpiece 8 ½, which is about a director modeled on Fellini himself, led other filmmakers to make films about themselves. Examples include but are not limited to Francois Truffaut’s Day for Night (1973), Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz (1979), and Pedro Almodóvar’s more recent film Pain and Glory (2018). But Fellini deserves credit for creating, or at the very least popularizing, another autobiographical genre of cinema. That genre is the semi-autobiographical childhood memory piece, or “memory piece” for short. (more…)

Harold Lloyd’s Love for Love

Posted on April 12, 2021 by Michaela Owens

When I think of Harold Lloyd, that dazzling innovator of silent comedy, I don’t think of the iconic image of him dangling on a clock, high above a bustling city street. I don’t think of him racing a horse-drawn wagon until its wheels pop off or clinging to a girder as its moves through the air of a construction site. No, when I think of Lloyd, I think of him arranging the furniture in a moving truck so he can play house with his amused girlfriend, or sitting in a canoe as he happily sighs over the memory of the pretty girl he met on the train, or his look of heartbreak when he believes his beloved has found someone else. The filmography of Lloyd is a treasure trove of some of cinema’s finest comedic moments, moments that have continued to elicit awe and belly laughs long past their heyday, but to me, the most precious thing about Lloyd is his dreamy-eyed depiction of love. (more…)

A Conversation with the Students Behind Double Exposure’s Amici Novum

Posted on April 7, 2021 by A Place For Film

Guest post by Elizabeth Roell, co-host of A Place for Film: The IU Cinema Podcast.

If you thought the filmmaking process was difficult, just imagine what it would be like to make a film during the global COVID pandemic. Well, there is a group of IU students that doesn’t have to imagine, because they did just that! For this week’s episode of A Place for Film: The IU Cinema Podcast, I sat down with the team behind the short film Amici Novum. Writer and director Alex Kopnick, composer Daniel Cueto, and sound designer Joey Miller walk me through the collaborative process of filmmaking and how they were able to put their passions and talents together to create an out-of-this-world film. Literally! (more…)

An Interview with Jon Vickers Scoring Award-Winning Composer Patrick Holcomb

Posted on April 5, 2021 by A Place For Film

Still from GRASS

Patrick Holcomb

Guest post by Alyssa Brooks, IU Cinema’s Marketing and Programming Coordinator.

In 2019, Jacobs School of Music student Patrick Holcomb was awarded the fifth Jon Vickers Scoring Award, a commission to compose a new orchestral score for a silent film. Holcomb’s score for Grass: A Nation’s Battle for Life will premiere Saturday, April 17. This year’s program contains several firsts: Grass is the first documentary to be chosen for the annual series; this is the first full-length film score Holcomb has written; while the premiere will happen live, it will be the first to happen in a virtual space; and due to the virtual nature of the performance, the score includes musical elements that would have been logistically impossible to execute in our physical space (more on that later).

Patrick Holcomb became interested in composition as a 12-year-old when he attended a band concert at his future high school. He tells me, “They played something that was totally different than anything I’d ever heard before, and it just blew my mind. My brain expanded 10 times, and I just thought, I have to make someone else feel that same way someday. I have to write something that will make someone else’s brain expand 10 times.” He has since earned a Bachelor of Music in Composition at Ithaca College and is working toward his master’s degree at the Jacobs School of Music. A Scoring for Visual Media class with film composer and Jacobs professor Larry Groupé led him to write and record his entry into the Jon Vickers Scoring Award competition, a five-minute segment of music to accompany the final climactic moments of Grass. (more…)

Monthly Movie Round-Up: March

Posted on March 31, 2021 by A Place For Film

A Fine Pair

Arnulf Rainer

Arabesque

Dekalog: Three

Every month, A Place for Film brings you a selection of films from our group of regular bloggers. Even though these films aren’t currently being screened at the IU Cinema, this series reflects the varied programming that can be found at the Cinema and demonstrates the eclectic tastes of the bloggers. Each contributor has picked one film that they saw this month that they couldn’t wait to share with others. Keep reading to find out what discoveries these cinephiles have made, as well as some of the old friends they’ve revisited. (more…)

Physical Media Isn’t Dead, It Just Smells Funny: Blu-ray Reviews for March 2021

Posted on March 29, 2021 by David Carter

A selection of Blu-rays featured in the review

Full transparency: all Blu-rays reviewed were provided by GKIDS, Kino Lorber, and Criterion.

Another month is upon us and with it brings more of those sweet, sweet discs. I’m talkin Blu gold, baby! However, it also brings some changes. Me and the powers-that-be have decided to integrate these reviews into the A Place for Film podcast so that both the reading and listening audiences can stay informed about the home media that comes down the pipeline each month. I hope those who listen to the podcast can find some things of interest over here at the blog and those who read the blog can experience some of the fun and joy Elizabeth Roell and I try to bring to the podcast each week. (more…)