Austen Film Fest - Preliminary Lineup

PLEASE ALSO VISIT THE *NEW* UPDATED PAGE THROUGH THIS LINK!




As announced at the department retreat last week, we will be hosting a film festival in concert with the Theater Department's stage production of Austen's Pride and Prejudice, all of which coincides with the bicentennial of the novel's original publication:

AUSTEN FILM FEST

Thursday, 10/17 (7pm-9pm) Brown 1028 // Pride and Prejudice (Olivier/Garson,1940)

Friday, 10/18 (7pm-9pm) Brown 1025 // Pride & Prejudice (Knightley/Macfayden,2005)

Saturday, 10/19 (12pm-5pm*) Brown 1025 // Pride and Prejudice Marathon (Firth/Ehle,1995)


Monday, 10/21 (7pm-9pm) Brown 1025 // Bride & Prejudice (Rai/Henderson,2004)

Tuesday, 10/22 (7pm-9pm) Brown 1025 // Bridget Jones’s Diary (Zellwegger/Firth,2001)

Wednesday, 10/23 (7pm-9pm) Brown 1028 // Lost in Austen (Rooper/Cowan,2008)


*Please note that the special screening of the acclaimed BBC series runs as a marathon screening all through the afternoon – feel free to drop in at any time, or indulge in the whole series if you can!

Also note that the first and last screenings of the festival will take place in Brown 1028; all the others will be in Brown 1025.

The times listed are those for which we have the rooms reserved—most films will be approximately 2 hours long, with the exception of the Saturday marathon and the two final films: Bridget Jones runs shorter, at close to 90 minutes, and the Lost in Austen mini-series runs longer, about 150 minutes (in three 50-min. episodes).

A short post-film discussion will follow each screening for anyone who wishes to stay afterward.

We're also planning to have a host of themed prizes awarded at each event, including DVDs and Austen memorabilia, so don’t miss out!

McKittrick wins Research Fellowship

Prof. Casey McKittrick recently received news of his appointment as a visiting Research Fellow at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin, where he will be in residency this summer. The prestigious Warren Skaaten Film Research Endowment will enable Casey to undertake extensive archival research for his current book manuscript, Hitchcock's Appetites: The Corpulent Plots of Desire and Dread. The HRC is renowned for its collections in a wide range of areas, perhaps most notably for works of the 20th century, from Joyce's page proofs for Ulysses to the dresses used in the film production of Gone With the Wind. Casey will have the pleasure of working with the correspondence among Hollywood super-producer David O. Selznick, his London representation Jenia Reissar, Hitchcock, and his Los Angeles agency, material that is crucial to his project.

"Grand Illusion" Premiere 12/4@Kalamazoo 10 ~ new Bentley film starring WMU students, faculty, alum

N.B.: tickets are FREE, but also limited (first-come, first-served) for this one-time screening at the cinema. If you want to be certain, you can reserve a seat in advance by emailing: chuckbentley@gmail.com

English Dept Alum's Red Carpet Local Premiere Features Familiar Faces

The Electronic Theatre
in association with
The Public Media Network

presents

the premiere of

KALAMAZOO STORIES

a movie by Chuck Bentley

at the Kalamazoo 10 Cinema
(West Main St. by US131)

Sunday Oct 11 at 5:30pm
intermission at 7pm
part II continues at 7:30pm
(movie ends at 9pm)

Free Admission
(limited seats: first come, first served!)


More info about CB's "epic" can be found in THIS ARTICLE.

Dept. Alum screening film at local theater

Local man's film to play at Kalamazoo 10

Kalamazoo Gazette
Friday, December 12, 2008
BY EARLENE MCMICHAEL


KALAMAZOO -- It's rare that a small-film maker has his work appear in the same theaters as blockbuster movies.

But next week, for one showing only, that is just what's going to happen for 1997 Community Medal of Arts winner Chuck Bentley, an independent producer and director from Kalamazoo. It is the first time he has presented his work in a movie theater.

Showtime for ``A Postcard from Ireland,'' about interesting locations in Ireland, is scheduled for 8 p.m. Wednesday at Kalamazoo 10 in Oshtemo Township. Admission is free and the public is invited. A reception will be held at 7 p.m.

Over the years, Bentley and his wife, Donna Kaminski, have created what he calls ``travel essays'' about cities in England, Italy, France, the Netherlands and the United States.

While his wife assists with some filming, Bentley said he does double-duty, both filming and acting as host on-camera. He said his travelogues have ``a very artistic aspect'' because the images are shot with a long lens and the final product is set to music.

``What I do is attempt to bring the viewer right with me on location,'' said Bentley, in an interview Thursday. ``With so many travelogues, someone else is shooting with the camera and someone else is on camera.''

In January, Bentley's ``A Postcard from China'' also will play at Kalamazoo 10.

Both films are in theaters thanks to assistance from the Community Access Center in Kalamazoo, which typically airs his films, Bentley said.

Each video features original music composed and performed by Randon Myles Chisnell, with vocals by Catherine Sugas and Christopher MacLean Nagle, all of whom are Kalamazoo residents.

[** NOTE: a live performance by the trio is slated for the screening on 12/17 **]