Bridging Fact and Fiction

Catalog description

Many films - both narrative and documentary - aim to present some form of “truth” and reality to the audience. This innovative course challenges students to think outside the box, inspiring a unique take on what it means to tell a true story in the cinematic artform. We will examine films that blur the line between documentary and fiction, calling into question the notion of portraying "truth" in cinema. We will deconstruct how filmmakers' selection and presentation of visual materials reveals an artful manipulation of reality in order to evoke meaning and emotion. The class will use films as texts to explore how cinematic storytelling attempts to create and subvert representations of reality. Films watched in the course include "Stories We Tell," "This is Spinal Tap," "Medium Cool," "The Act of Killing" and more. Through a close analysis of films that challenge our notion of what is “real,” students will interrogate the notion of truth in cinema, and discover a new way of thinking about film narrative. In this course, students will meet virtually to screen clips from films, participate in remote workshops, and engage in lively discussions. Student work will include written film analysis, and students will also put theory into practice through the creation of a remote video exercise based on this theme (using cellphone filming, archival material and footage taken from both real-life and fiction films). This course inspires students to see the art of cinematic storytelling not as a narrow construct, but rather one that allows the filmmaker to blend veracity and creation to produce original narratives.