In an effort to initiate public dialogue in the City of Arts and Innovation, about cinema as art, the greatest of all the arts nonetheless, a/perture cinema introduced a new screening and discussion series in 2015. This series centers on the notion of “looking at art cinema.” Together, the community and selected speakers, will discuss a curated list of films. Some of these films you have seen and some you may have not, but either way we hope the discussions will allow you to see them anew.
Looking @ Art Cinema: Women and Religion in Film
Aperture Cinema’s fall 2018 series of Looking @ Art Cinema will examine cinematic reflections on women and religion. Beginning with the trial of Joan of Arc and moving on to two films set in convents, we will examine institutional structures and power. With three selections that take individual faith and religious devotion seriously, we will ask how each film depicts the struggle to maintain relationship with God amidst the struggle and turmoil of an imperfect world. We will also explore the contributions of women as filmmakers across nearly a century of cinematic history. Screenings hosted by Dr. Joshua Canzona, Senior Fellow in the School of Divinity at Wake Forest University.
The Passion of Joan of Arc
October 20, 2018 @ 9:30 am
Jeanne d’Arc is charged with heresy and pressured to recant her claims of holy visions before an ecclesiastical court. With an astonishing performance by Renée Jeanne Falconetti in the title role, this is among the most emotionally and spiritually compelling films in the history of cinema. Dr. Ulrike Wiethaus, Professor in the Department for the Study of Religions at Wake Forest University will join us for the viewing and discussion.
Black Narcissus
November 10, 2018 @ 9:30 am
A masterpiece of building tension painted in vibrant color across a soaring landscape, director Michael Powell called it “the most erotic film that I ever made.” Film scholar and critic Kent Jones describes the film as addressing “an enduring misconception: the longing, indeed fervent, belief that reality can be reconfigured to conform to an ideal image.” Dr. Katherine Shaner, Professor of New Testament in the Wake Forest University School of Divinity will join us for the viewing and discussion.
The Innocents
December 15, 2018 @ 9:30 am
Set just after the end of World War II, the quiet serenity of a Polish convent is broken by the screams of a sister suffering in childbirth, interrupted by menacing soldiers at the gate. This is an extraordinary meditation on faith and doubt, love and purpose from the perspective of women. Dr. Mary Dalton, Professor in the Department of Communication at Wake Forest University will join us for the viewing and discussion.
Dr. Joshua Canzona is Senior Fellow in the Wake Forest University School of Divinity. His research focuses on the mystical traditions of both Christianity and Islam and he has presented his work at Harvard, the University of Oxford, and the Sorbonne in Paris.