“The artist is the medium between his fantasies and the rest of the world.” — Federico Fellini Scholars and film fans tend to divide the career of Federico Fellini, who would have celebrated his 100th birthday this year, into two periods. The first half is more influenced by the Italian neorealist movement that his mentor… Read more »
Bite-Sized Blogs
Spending a Sunday in New York with Jane Fonda
When I learned that I was one of the lucky IU Cinema employees to be randomly picked for the Staff Selects series, I was over the moon. I mean, a chance to program a film at one of my favorite places in the world? Seriously? Incredibly enough, my first choice worked out — a 1953… Read more »
Herman Melville’s Odd Couple: The Lighthouse and Neil Simon
“To the last, I grapple with thee; From Hell’s heart, I stab at thee; For hate’s sake, I spit my last breath at thee.” – Herman Melville “What interests me the most is human behavior.” – Neil Simon Director Robert Eggers has named many influences on his new nautical horror film The Lighthouse. They include filmmakers… Read more »
Sun and Style: Agnès Varda’s Short California Documentaries
Agnès Varda’s legendary career was defined by many qualities, but two especially striking ones were playfulness and empathy. Her playful experiments with film form, including a blurring of the line between nonfiction and fiction, mark her as an innovator. At the same time, her empathy for whoever she is filming gives her films an emotional… Read more »
Judy Garland’s Performance of a Lifetime
Have you ever seen a performance that immediately became seared on your brain, a performance so extraordinary and visceral that just thinking about it gives you goosebumps? If you haven’t, I have one recommendation for you: Judy Garland in 1954’s A Star is Born. With the role of Esther Blodgett, Judy was able to showcase… Read more »
Zak Williams: Contributing to His Father’s Legacy
Guest post by Bernice Pescosolido. Just last Thursday night, Zak Williams stood at the podium of a comedy club in San Francisco with his brother Cody and his wife, talking about the importance of laughter to mental health. And who would know better than Zak, the first son of comedian Robin Williams, the brilliant, zany,… Read more »