Cinema, Nature, Ecology Film and Video Series: Local Landscapes

Two film programs featuring work by three Chicago filmmakers, followed by a round table discussion.

These two programs of films by Bill Brown, Thomas Comerford, and Deborah Stratman collectively investigate the varied relationships of urban spaces and rural landscapes to historical narratives of power and control. In works ranging from experimental shorts to documentaries, these screenings highlight a significant thread within Chicago’s underground film community: the reinvestigation of familiar locations and landmarks.

6pm Films by Deborah Stratman

In Order Not to Be Here (16mm, 2002, 33m)

O'er The Land (16mm, 2008, 51m)

7:45pm Films by Bill Brown & Thomas Comerford

Figures in the Landscape (Comerford, 2002, 12m)

Land Marked / Marquette (Comerford, 2005, 23m)

The Other Side (Brown, 2006, 43m)

Chicago Detroit Split (Brown & Comerford, 2005, 10m)

9pm Roundtable discussion with Brown, Comerford and Stratman

Cinema, Nature, Ecology Film and Video Series:  From massive multiplayer video games to the multiplex, cinema and media play a central role in shaping our awareness of “environments”. In the context of contemporary public discourse on globalization, ecology, and society, this role takes on new urgency. Cinema, Nature, Ecology presents a series of film and video programs on these themes, bringing artists to talk about how these issues have informed their film practice. Presented in conjunction with the Cinema and Media Studies graduate student conference, April 3-4.