Filmmaking Archives - Public Seminar

The Fate of the Artist Under Totalitarianism

A conversation with German novelist Daniel Kehlmann

June 17, 2025 • by Mitchell Abidor and Daniel Kehlmann

Mitchell Abidor interviews Daniel Kehlmann about examining the curious saga of Austrian filmmaker G. W. Pabst in his new novel, THE DIRECTOR....

The Fate of the Artist Under Totalitarianism

Film & Performing Arts

What Are We to Make of Lars von Trier?

The Idiots, the controversial Danish director’s most controversial film, reconsidered

December 19, 2023 • by Emma Slack-Jørgensen

In Denmark, von Trier is both ridiculed and cherished—at best he is terminally misunderstood and at worst a national laughing stock. Yet the Danish director meets his most critical audience within the very film festivals that have showcased his work. ...

Film & Performing Arts

When Filming “On-Location” Is Filming “At-Home”

The pandemic has interrupted business as usual — but that might be good for your creativity

July 30, 2020 • by Dawnja Burris

But the pandemic changed that. Making a short film without being able to be on location, without a crew, and being physically distanced from subjects is exactly what many film students experienced this past spring semester when their classes were moved online because of COVID-19. Films that had been carefully ...

When Filming “On-Location” Is Filming “At-Home”

Feature

Telescopes for our Senses

The Interstellar Imagination of Alexander Kluge

March 29, 2019 • by Max L. Feldman

In his Critique of Practical Reason, Immanuel Kant said two things fill the mind with awe: “the starry sky above me and the moral law within me.” This image, bridging the vast gap between our inner lives and outer space, is vital for Alexander Kluge, too. We need to develop “the ...

Feature

The Tale

An interview with filmmaker Jennifer Fox about narrative and re-membering

May 26, 2018 • by Tracy Sidesinger

Jennifer Fox’s The Tale is a film about childhood sexual abuse. It is difficult. There’s no getting around that, and in fact so much of the point is to not get around it but to finally acknowledge what has always been there. But the film also offers the courage to do so, ...