DIVISION OF CINEMA AND MEDIA STUDIES SPEAKER SERIES:

Thomas Elsaesser

The Division of Cinema and Media Studies invites you to a screening of Professor Elsaessar’s film: The Sun Island. The screening will be followed by a conversation between Professor Elsaesser and Vice Dean for Academic Affairs, Dr. Michael Renov.

Thomas Elsaessar is a Visiting Professor in Columbia University’s Film and Media Studies Department and Emeritus Professor in the Department of Media & Culture at the University of Amsterdam. One of the pioneering scholars of international film studies, he has had a long career, both as an academic and a film critic, working in departments across the globe. He was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for Cinema and Media Studies in 2008, and his book, ‘Introduction to Film Theory,’ co-written with Malte Hagener, continues to guide students into the wild and varied field of Film Theory. He has also author of five books and numerous essays on almost all aspects of German cinema, as well as books on Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Harun Farocki. He is the grandson of the renowned German architect Martin Elsaesser, one of the subjects of The Sun Island, and co-editor of Martin Elsaesser – Schriften (Zurich: Niggli, 2014)

The Sun Island Synopsis: The Sun Island is a documentary essay film about coincidences, shattered lives and posthumous fame. The film documents the life and professional career of Martin Elsaesser (1884-1957), architect and chief city planner in Frankfurt (Germany) from 1925 to 1932. The controversial acquisition of his landmark building, the Frankfurt Central Market, by the European Central Bank as the site of their new headquarters, is the ostensible occasion to weave the building's turbulent history into Martin Elsaesser's biography, his wife Liesel’s liaison with notable landscape architect Leberecht Migge, and the director’s own family history. 

Date: 20 April • Time: 2 P.M. • Venue: SCI 106

The discussion will be followed by a reception.