BLACK GLASS
We are thrilled to welcome filmmaker Adam Piron, November 7-8, to the Center for Ethnographic Media Arts as part of our Visiting Artist Series.
Yaangna Plays Itself (2022)
An ode to the memories of El Aliso, the sycamore tree that once stood at the center of Yaangna, the Indigenous Gabrieleno village that Los Angeles grew out from. All elements sourced in the film are from the original site and the nearby Los Angeles River.
Dau:añcut // Moving Along Image (2023)
The likeness of a relative of the filmmaker surfaces as a tattoo on the arm of a Ukrainian soldier. A U.S. Army post in Oklahoma, built to fight Kiowa and Apache, is rededicated to aid in the fight against Putin’s own Western expansion. In Dau:añcut (Moving Along Image), Adam Piron explores the contradictions of colonialism and anti-settler solidarity across time and geography and in the muddled spaces of TikTok, where representations of Indigenous peoples are caught up in the ongoing and increasingly rapid circulation of images.
Black Glass (2024)
Before his legendary proto-cinematic studies in motion, photographer Eadweard Muybridge was commissioned to document the United States Army’s war against the Modoc tribe in Northern California in a series of stereographs, many of them staged. Alternately unnerving, meditative, and explosive, Adam Piron’s Black Glass examines the entangled histories of visual technology and the genocide and expropriation of Indigenous populations by white settlers through a violent collision of image and sound.
Adam Piron in-person with a Q&A to follow the film.
November 7th, 2024
Doors at 6:30pm, films begins at 7:00pm
Runtime 31 min.
USC School of Cinematic Arts Complex
Room, SCI 106
900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007
FREE ADMISSION. OPEN TO ALL USC STUDENTS, FACULTY, STAFF, ALUMNI, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
To secure a spot, please RSVP to CEMA@usc.edu.
This event is co-sponsored by USC Center for Ethnographic Media Arts and USC School of Cinematic Arts.
WORKS-IN-PROGRESS
A Discussion with Adam Piron
In this workshop, Adam Piron will screen and discuss current works-in-progress including:
ndn time – A work-in-progress screening of fragments of Adam Piron’s feature film looking at a material history of cinema in California and its connections to campaigns of settler colonial genocide against Native American communities, while weaving in contemporary perspectives by Indigenous artists from those communities reflecting on what it means to engage in filmic practices. This will focus on the opening vignette that looks at a history of Eadweard Muybridge’s involvement in the US Army’s campaign against the Modoc Tribe of Northern California and the history of the Cerro Gordo Mine in the Owens Valley as it relates to a history of resource extraction to manufacture early film stock. (40 mins.)
The Power & the Freedom – Former San Francisco police officer John “Scottie” Ferguson (James Stewart) has developed acrophobia and must follow a woman (Kim Novak) who may be possessed by a ghost from the past in Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo. Widely considered his crowning achievement, the film has long been canonized as cinema’s essential image of San Francisco. In its sundry dissections, much of the focus centers on its portrayal of obsession while few have dug deep into its foregrounding of California’s dark legacy of the Mission Era. Based on Adam Piron’s live reading and visual essay, this work-in-progress offers a reading of Vertigo from a uniquely Indigenous vantage point and interprets Hitchcock’s masterpiece as a statement on the ongoing costs of a colonialism, specific to California, and the psychological violence that continues to ripple from its blast point. (60 mins.)
November 8th, 2024
1:00pm – 4:00pm
USC School of Cinematic Arts Complex
Room, SCA 110
900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007
We have limited space available for this workshop. Please write to us as soon as possible to secure your spot. To RSVP, email cema@usc.edu with your name and institutional affiliation.
UNION
A film by Brett Story and Stephen Maing
Up against one of the most powerful companies on the planet, a group of Amazon workers embark on an unprecedented campaign to unionize their warehouse in Staten, New York.
Brett Story in-person, followed by a Q&A moderated by Dr. Clare O’Connor of USC Annenberg.
October 24th, 2024
Doors at 5:30pm, film begins at 6:00pm
Runtime 100 min.
USC School of Cinematic Arts Complex
Room, SCI 106
900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007
FREE ADMISSION. OPEN TO ALL USC STUDENTS, FACULTY, STAFF, ALUMNI, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
To secure a spot, please RSVP to CEMA@usc.edu.
This event is co-sponsored by USC Center for Ethnographic Media Arts, USC Annenberg, and USC School of Cinematic Arts.
GEOGRAPHY AS CINEMATIC METHOD
Discussing her practice across multiple long form works, Brett Story will explore how geography operates as a method in her non-fiction filmmaking. Using examples from select projects, she will discuss how the production of space and the problem of seeing animate the formal and political choices she makes in the construction of her films. We will together investigate form as politics, and cinema as space.
October 25th, 2024
10:00am – 12:00pm
USC School of Cinematic Arts Complex
Room, SCB 104
900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007
We have limited space available for this workshop. Please write to us as soon as possible to secure your spot. To RSVP, email cema@usc.edu with your name and institutional affiliation.
This event is co-sponsored by USC Center for Ethnographic Media Arts, USC Annenberg, and USC School of Cinematic Arts.
Group Critique
In this Center for Ethnographic Media Arts Visiting Artist session, a small group of participants will share sequences from works-in-progress with Brett Story for critique. We will prioritize CEMA Fellows and USC graduate students working as small crews (1-3 persons) to produce original nonfiction work. Interested participants should send a short description of their project and a sentence or two about why you would wish to participate. All participants will be asked to submit an up to 15 minute sequence and/or other materials on October 23rd for critique and eventual submission into the online CEMA Critical Digital Archive.
October 25th, 2024
1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
USC School of Cinematic Arts Complex
Room, SCB 104
900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007
Please email cema@usc.edu to apply to reserve your spot. Deadline for applications is Monday, Oct. 21st at 12:00PM.
This event is co-sponsored by USC Center for Ethnographic Media Arts, USC Annenberg, and USC School of Cinematic Arts.
Youth (Spring)
Youth (Spring) A film by Wang Bing
Youth (Spring) is set in Zhili, 120 miles from Shanghai. In this city dedicated to textile manufacturing, young workers come from rural regions crossed by the Yangtze River. They are in their early twenties, sharing dormitories and snacking in the corridors. They work tirelessly to be able to one day raise a child, buy a house, or set up their own workshop. Friendships and romantic affairs are made and unmade according to the seasons, financial difficulties, and family pressures.
Wang Bing in-person, followed by a with a Q&A moderated by Dr. Jenny Chio, USC Associate Professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures and Anthropology.
October 3rd, 2024
Doors at 5:00pm, film begins at 5:30pm
Runtime 215 min.
USC School of Cinematic Arts Complex
Room, SCI 106
900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007
FREE ADMISSION. OPEN TO ALL USC STUDENTS, FACULTY, STAFF, ALUMNI, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
To secure a spot, please RSVP to CEMA@usc.edu with your name and institutional affiliation.
This event is co-sponsored by USC Center for Ethnographic Media Arts, Media Arts + Practice, and USC School of Cinematic Arts.
A Discussion-Based Masterclass with Wang Bing
Wang Bing will discuss how his approach to filmmaking has developed over the course of the last two decades. Sharing clips from across his oeuvre, Wang will discuss how he works with individuals and communities to produce his profound and insightful portraits of contemporary life in mainland China. This is a rare opportunity to engage in conversation with a leading figure in global nonfiction cinema.
October 4th, 2024
2:30pm – 4:30pm
USC School of Cinematic Arts Complex
Room, SCB 104
900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007
We have limited space available for this workshop. Please write to us as soon as possible to secure your spot. To RSVP, email cema@usc.edu with your name and institutional affiliation.
This event is co-sponsored by USC Center for Ethnographic Media Arts and USC School of Cinematic Arts.
Works-In-Progress Critique with Visiting Artist Wang Bing
In this Center for Ethnographic Media Arts Visiting Artist session, a small group of participants will share sequences from works-in-progress with Wang Bing for critique. We will prioritize CEMA Fellows and USC graduate students working as small crews (1-3 persons) to produce original nonfiction work. Interested participants should send a short description of their project and a sentence or two about why you would wish to participate. All participants will be asked to submit a 3-5 minute sequence and/or other materials on October 3 for critique and eventual submission into the online CEMA Critical Digital Archive.
October 4th, 2024
10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
USC School of Cinematic Arts Complex
Room, SCB 104
900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007
Please email cema@usc.edu to apply to reserve your spot. Deadline for applications is Wednesday, Oct. 2nd.
This event is co-sponsored by USC Center for Ethnographic Media Arts, Media Arts + Practice, and USC School of Cinematic Arts.
Dos Estaciones
Dos Estaciones by Juan Pablo Gonzalez
Juan Pablo Gonzalez in-person with a Q&A to follow the film.
April 12, 2024
Doors at 9:15am, film begins at 9:30am
Runtime 120 min.
The Michelle and Kevin Douglas IMAX Theatre
The Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts (RZC)
3131 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007
(Entrance on 32nd Street)
FREE ADMISSION. OPEN TO ALL USC STUDENTS, FACULTY, STAFF, ALUMNI, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
RSVP to CEMA@usc.edu
This event is co-sponsored by USC Center for Ethnographic Media Arts and USC School of Cinematic Arts.
PERCEPTIONS OF THE REAL
A Workshop with Juan Pablo Gonzalez
A short workshop about the intersection between nonfiction and fiction film practices. Together we will discuss some of the ways in which we think about the real and the constructed in moving image work. We will also explore the relationship between our experience of the world and cinema’s potential to represent, or not, that experience.
April 12, 2024
1:00-4:00pm
To secure your spot in this workshop email CEMA@usc.edu with your name and institutional affiliation by April 5, 2024.
This event is co-sponsored by USC Center for Ethnographic Media Arts and USC School of Cinematic Arts.
Last Things
Last Things by Deborah Stratman
Deborah Stratman in-person with a Q&A to follow the film.
March 7, 2024
Doors at 6:30pm, film begins at 7:00pm
Runtime 65 min.
USC School of Cinematic Arts Complex
Room, SCI 106
900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007
FREE ADMISSION. OPEN TO ALL USC STUDENTS, FACULTY, STAFF, ALUMNI, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
RSVP to CEMA@usc.edu
This event is co-sponsored by USC Center for Ethnographic Media Arts and USC School of Cinematic Arts.
GEOPHONY
A Workshop with Deborah Stratman
The earth is a tape recorder. The earth is an oscillator. Landscapes are mediums for sensory vibration and political meaning. If rocks can tell stories outside of human time, there must be a listening outside of that time as well. How might the sonosphere be a medium for situated knowledge, transperception, and evolutionary perspective? A short workshop on the long now and potentials of geological listening.
March 8, 2024
1:00-4:00pm
To secure your spot in this workshop email CEMA@usc.edu with your name and institutional affiliation by March 1, 2024.
This event is co-sponsored by USC Center for Ethnographic Media Arts and USC School of Cinematic Arts.
Salon with Christopher Harris
still/here and Other Films by Christopher Harris and Friends
Christopher Harris will be in-person at the screening.
February 22nd, 2024
Doors at 6:30pm, film begins at 7:00pm
Runtime 91 min.
USC School of Cinematic Arts Complex
Room, SCI 106
900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007
FREE ADMISSION. OPEN TO ALL USC STUDENTS, FACULTY, STAFF, ALUMNI, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
RSVP to CEMA@usc.edu
This event is co-sponsored by USC Center for Ethnographic Media Arts and USC School of Cinematic Arts.
Lose Your Mother: Transglobal Histories of the Personal Archive
A Workshop with Christopher Harris
Building on the insights of Christopher Harris’s groundbreaking work in experimental audiovisual historiography, this workshop offers an examination of filmmaking practices centered on personal histories and lineages. Participants will be tasked with bringing a short piece of media or artifact that intimately engages with personal history and archival practices. Through collective discussion and analysis, we will delve into the complexities and nuances of making within this context.
February 23, 2024
1:00-4:00pm
To secure your spot in this workshop email CEMA@usc.edu with your name and institutional affiliation by February 16, 2024.
This event is co-sponsored by USC Center for Ethnographic Media Arts and USC School of Cinematic Arts.
EXPEDITION CONTENT
A film by Ernst Karel & Veronika Kusumaryati
Ernst Karel will be in-person at the screening.
November 7th, 2023
Doors at 9:30am, film begins at 10:00am
Runtime 78 min.
USC School of Cinematic Arts Complex
Room, SCI 106
900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007
FREE ADMISSION. OPEN TO ALL USC STUDENTS, FACULTY, STAFF, ALUMNI, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
RSVP to CEMA@usc.edu
This event is co-sponsored by USC Center for Ethnographic Media Arts and USC School of Cinematic Arts.
MEDIATED LISTENING
An Ears-On Workshop with Ernst Karel
This workshop will focus on listening in multiple modes, with an ear toward audio work in nonfiction/ethnographic media. Participants will prepare for the workshop by engaging in a simple project involving listening both with and without technological apparatus, monitoring through headphones while both recording and not recording, and listening discerningly to the resulting recordings — an exercise loosely based on Pauline Oliveros’ 1979 text score, ‘Just Listening’. In the workshop we’ll discuss instruments for transducing sound into audio, listen critically to a variety of audio work, and engage in discussions around our experiences of listening and possibilities for sonic ethnography or other ways of engaging with reality-based audio.
November 10th, 2023
1:00-4:00pm
To secure your spot in this workshop email us at CEMA@usc.edu with your name and institutional affiliation by November 6th, 2023.
This event is co-sponsored by USC Center for Ethnographic Media Arts and USC School of Cinematic Arts.
DRY GROUND BURNING
A FILM BY JOANA PIMENTA AND ADIRLEY QUEIRÓS
Joana Pimenta will be in-person at the screening.
October 26th, 2023
Doors at 6:30pm, film begins at 7:00pm
Runtime 153 min.
SCA 310, Steven Spielberg Building
USC School of Cinematic Arts Complex
900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007
FREE ADMISSION. OPEN TO ALL USC STUDENTS, FACULTY, STAFF, ALUMNI, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
RSVP to CEMA@usc.edu
This event is co-sponsored by USC Center for Ethnographic Media Arts and USC School of Cinematic Arts.
MARGINAL IMAGES
A WORKSHOP WITH JOANA PIMENTA
This is a non-fiction filmmaking workshop with a specific focus on cinematography, directed to filmmakers who want to direct and simultaneously shoot their own work. We will explore a form of cinematography that works with natural light as well as with lights found on location, and talk about strategies to edit while you shoot. In this gymnastics of the director-cinematographer, you will think about how to use the tools of fiction in nonfiction shoots (by yourself or with a small crew, without a script or a plan) to control exposure and color, think about framing and lenses, lighting and composition, movement and operation, measurement and focus, pre-shoot model-making and post-production color correction, as well as using notational drawing and the viewfinder diagramming to prepare the choreography of anticipating our shots in advance, so that you can react, often instinctively and unexpectedly, ideally without the restraints of technical or conceptual control, when you are face to face with the world.
To secure your spot in this workshop email us at CEMA@usc.edu with your name and institutional affiliation by October 20th, 2023.
The workshop will be held on October 27th, 2023, 1:00-4:00pm
This event is co-sponsored by USC Center for Ethnographic Media Arts and USC School of Cinematic Arts.
DE HUMANI CORPORIS FABRICA
A FILM BY VÉRÉNA PARAVEL AND LUCIEN CASTAING-TAYLOR
Lucien Castaing-Taylor in-person with a Q&A to follow the film.
September 21st, 2023
Doors at 6:30pm, film begins at 7:00pm
Runtime 118 min.
The Michelle and Kevin Douglas IMAX Theatre
The Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts (RZC)
3131 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007
(Entrance on 32nd Street)
FREE ADMISSION. OPEN TO ALL USC STUDENTS, FACULTY, STAFF, ALUMNI, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
RSVP to CEMA@usc.edu
This event is co-sponsored by USC Center for Ethnographic Media Arts, USC Center on Science, Technology, and Public Life and USC School of Cinematic Arts.
IN THE FLESH
A WORKSHOP WITH LUCIEN CASTAING-TAYLOR
This inaugural CEMA Visiting Artist Series Workshop with anthropologist and artist Lucien Castaing-Taylor attends to the mystery, beauty and horror of the human body. It will feature a screening of the groundbreaking film SOMNILOQUIES (2017, dir. Véréna Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor, 73 min.) followed by a discussion on how bodily experience and consciousness are depicted in the films DE HUMANI CORPORIS FABRICA and SOMNILOQUIES. Participants will receive a prompt in advance of the workshop and are very strongly encouraged to attend the CEMA sponsored screening of DE HUMANI CORPORIS FABRICA on 9/21.
The workshop is available to students selected through a competitive application process. To secure your spot, submit a statement expressing your interest in participating in this workshop to CEMA@usc.edu by September 18th, 2023.
The workshop will be held on September 22, 2023, 1:00-4:00pm
This event is co-sponsored by USC Center for Ethnographic Media Arts and Media Arts + Practice at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
