41822 - Documentary and Experimental Cinematography with Lab-based Activities (1)

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course students will:

- know the creative tendencies that have characterized documentary and experimental cinema, also from an historical point of view;

- know the production and distribution modes of non-fiction cinema;

- connect the major works of experimental and documentary cinema with cinema history.

Course contents

This course includes an institutional part on the birth and development of documentary and experimental cinema, from the origins to the seventies, focusing on some of the most representative figures, works, and institutions. In addition, it includes a monographic part on the contemporary Italian documentary.

Readings/Bibliography

For the institutional part: Jean Breschand, Il documentario. L’altra faccia del cinema, 2005. Attending students will be provided with additional lecture notes. Non-attending students shall integrate the syllabus with Bill Nichols's Study, Introduzione al documentario, Il Castoro, 2014.

For the monographic part: Daniele Dottorini (a cura di), Per un cinema del reale, Forum, 2013 e Giovanni Spagnoletti (a cura di), Il reale allo specchio, Marsilio, 2012.

Attending students are required to view the films indicated during the course. Those non-attending shall view at least 10 films among those mentioned in the texts of Breschand and/or Nichols (10 movies in total).

Teaching methods

Lectures with supporting videos and classroom exercises on parts of the syllabus already covered.

Assessment methods

Oral examination.

It will be assessed as excellent the performance of those students achieving an organic vision of the course contents, the use of a proper specific language, the originality of the reflection as well as the familiarity with the historiographical tolls for analysing the discipline.

It will be assessed as discrete the performance of those students showing mostly mechanical or mnemonic knowledge of the subject, not articulated synthesis and analysis capabilities, a correct but not always appropriate language, as well as a scholastic study of the discipline. It will be assessed as barely sufficient the performance of those students showing learning gaps, inappropriate language, lack of knowledge of the discipline. It will be assessed as insufficient the performance of those students showing learning gaps, inappropriate language, no orientation within the recommended bibliography and inability to analyse the subject.

Teaching tools

Movie projections

Office hours

See the website of Giacomo Manzoli