We’ve inherited something great. And we’re also a little intimidated by the work that former directors Jesse Hoffman and Dahn D’Lion have done over the past three years, from when they inherited the Society in 2008 up to their departure this December. Their meticulous curatorial work, in-depth introductions, spirit of accessibility, and not least of all their passion for cinema, have, for us, laid the foundation for the future of Trent Film Society. Nonetheless, this is an organization that has existed for almost as long as this university has, and while TFS’s programming is in a large way an extension of its directors’ interests and passions vis-à-vis film, it is also part of a tradition of ‘the film society’, which has existed for most of cinema’s short history.
This tradition is becoming increasingly important, as we collectively realized at a screening of Tsai Ming-Liang’s Goodbye Dragon Inn, with the disappearance of permanent spaces for cinema, such as the now-almost-extinct art-house theatre, because it plays a crucial part in keeping cinema itself alive.
But who are we? Let us introduce ourselves:
Tyler Prozeniuk, an undergraduate student in Cultural Studies, has been working with TFS for some time already, occasionally introducing films, appearing (in the form of film synopses and discussions) in Arthur, and designing film handbills. Favoured filmmakers include Jean-Luc Godard and Yasujirō Ozu.
Troy Bordun, a recent addition to Peterborough, is 12.5% finished Trent’s Ph.D program in Cultural Studies. Aside from reading complicated philosophy texts and running and organizing events for a scholarly space called Hausu (after the film by Nobuhiko Obayashi), he especially enjoys Japanese films, Luis Buñuel, and Lars Von Trier. On occasion he’s known to trash talk Hollywood à la Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer, discuss the merits and pitfalls of erotic cinema, and make a case for film as a better medium for analyses of ethical behaviour than philosophical texts.
Our programming this semester extends from the Japanese New Wave to the Iranian New Wave, from the cinema of crime to the cinema of dreams and memories. Our hope is that each film will enter into a dialogue with the ones that precede it, creating a kind of cinematic montage in the programming itself.
This Wednesday, the 11th, at 8pm at Artspace (378 Aylmer St. N.), we’ll start the season with the very last of 54 films directed by the Japanese master Yasujirō Ozu, titled An Autumn Afternoon, and released in 1962. There’s a very good reason that TFS has not gone a year in recent memory without showing one of Ozu’s films, and his last is one of his best.
Come join us for some great films and discussion every Wednesday evening at Artspace. Find us on Facebook, or on tumblr (trentfilmsociety.tumblr.com) for updates and for more information on our programming.
Jan 11 Ozu: An Autumn Afternoon (1962) --- Jan 18 Oshima: Boy (1969) --- Jan 25 Shinoda: Double Suicide (1969) --- Feb 1 Hitchcock: Rope (1948) --- Feb 8 Melville: Le samourai (1967) --- Feb 15 Godard: Made in USA (1966) --- Feb 22 Buñuel: Los Olvidados aka The Young and the Damned (1950) --- Feb 29 Mohsen Makhmalbaf: The Cyclist (1987) --- Mar 7 Kiarostami: Close Up (1990) --- Mar 14 Samira Makhmalbaf: The Apple (1998) --- Mar 21 Parajanov: The Colour of Pomegranates (1968) --- Mar 28 Tarkovsky: Mirror (1975) --- Apr 4 Saakyan: Lighthouse (2006)
