Event—Adult Education

Stillness is the Move: Slow Cinema & Transcendental Style

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Poster for Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, 1975, artist Babette Mangolte. Source: Posteritati Movie Poster Gallery, © Babette Mangolte.

Class Description

In today’s hyper-saturated world of stimulation, there is a pleasure to be found in making the room for “slow cinema,” films that give space for thought and reflection. Using Paul Schrader’s seminal text, Transcendental Style in Film: Ozu, Bresson, Dreyer, we will go on a journey through the history of slow cinema and explore its connection to religious traditions around the world.

Fred Pelzer is a Chicago-based filmmaker. He has provided script guidance for Full Spectrum Features, American High, Tabula Rasa Theatre, One Love Foundation, and others, and also has worked as a screenwriting contest judge. He teaches film production at DePaul University, and his short story collection Static was published by Etchings Press.

What to Expect

Format: In Person 

Class Capacity: 18 

Class Style: Mix of lecture and discussion; participation encouraged 

Materials List

Required

  • Paul Schrader, Transcendental Style in Film: Ozu, Bresson, Dreyer. University of California, 2018. ISBN: 9780520296817

First Assignment

  • Please read the first two chapters of Paul Schrader’s Transcendental Style in Film, “Rethinking Transcendental Style” & “Introduction to the Original Edition”

A Brief Syllabus

  1. Introduction to Slow Cinema
  2. Transcendental Cinema
  3. Slow Cinema
  4. Modern Arthouse

Cost and Registration

4 Sessions, $175 ($157.50 for Newberry members, seniors, and students). Learn about becoming a member.

We offer our classes at three different price options: Regular ($175), Community Supported ($160), and Sponsor ($190).Following the models of other institutions, we want to ensure that our classes are accessible to a wider audience while continuing to support our instructors. You may choose the price that best fits your situation when registering through Learning Stream.

To register multiple people for this class, please go through the course calendar in Learning Stream, our registration platform. When you select the course and register, you’ll be prompted to add another registrant.

Having trouble signing up? Take a look at our step-by-step guide to registration by clicking here.

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The views and opinions expressed in this class and/or by the instructor are not necessarily representative of the Newberry. We aim to ensure that in our classes, participants can have respectful disagreement to foster critical thinking. This is a space to challenge and expand our own worldviews to work towards better understanding and appreciating humanity.

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Call us at (312) 255-3700 or send us an email at adulteducation@newberry.org.

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