Une étudiante d’aujourd’ hui / A Modern Coed
Eric Rohmer’s 1966 documentary, Une étudiante d’aujourd’ hui – or more commonly known as A Modern Coed – follows the everyday life of women in college. At just 18-minutes, this documentary has just enough time to discuss how women changed the college scene to A Modern Coed.
Le Bonheur/Happiness
Agnes Varda’s 1965 film, Le Bonheur or Happiness, centers around François (Jean-Claude Drouot), a man who sees cheating as additional happiness on top of his existing contentment with his wife. For 1965, this film was bold and took a step out into unknown territory and Varda respectfully placed feminism into the mise-en-scene and parts of the storyline.
Une Homme et une Femme/A Man and a Woman
Love is complicated and takes many forms; the love you feel for your parents, your friends, and your significant other are all different but still considered love. What would happen if the love you felt for somebody was still there, but the person was gone? The 1966 film Un Homme et une Femme or A Man and a Woman directed by Claude Lelouch explores the answer to that question through a man named Jean-louis Duroc (Jean-Louis Trintignant), a woman named Anne Gauthier (Anouk Aimée) and their untimely love story.
Black Girl
Ousmane Sembene directed Black Girl in 1966, which follows a Senegalese girl named Diouana (M’Bissine Thérèse Diop), who works for a French couple that lives in Dakar. However, the woman she works for—who formally goes by Madame (Anne-Marie Jelinek)— starts to become more demanding and controlling throughout the film, forcing Diouana into a state of misery.
A Newcomer’s Guide to La Nouvelle Vague: Issue #3
Issue number three of A Newcomer’s Guide to La Nouvelle Vague – each film will take us through emotional stories about happiness, death, and absence. I hope that this set of films will be added to your watch list for a rainy day!
The Most Dangerous Game (1932): Ironic Misogyny
Despite its apparent criticism of the objectification of women, Irving Pichel and Ernest B. Schoedsack’s 1932 film “The Most Dangerous Game” falls prey to the misogyny found so often in action and adventure films, reducing its only female character to a damsel-in-distress archetype as well as implicit affirming its antagonist’s ideology.
From the Oscars: The Lion King (2019)
Being nominated at the 92nd Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects, The Lion King (2019) directed by Jon Favreau sought to bring new life to an old Disney classic. And it is a stunningly beautiful movie – too bad the rest of the movie falls short.
From the Oscars: Joker (2019)
Joker is highlighted by a gob-smacking performance from Joaquin Phoenix, thematic and stunning cinematography, and social commentary on mental health on a societal level.
Preview: One Week Job (2010, feat. Sean Aiken)
We’ll be showing One Week Job as the final film in our Careers, Conflicts, and Callings series Nov. 7th, in SLC 120. Sean Aiken himself will be our special guest to introduce the film, answer questions, and discuss his experience.
Preview: The Blair Witch Project (1999, Dir. Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez)
Winona State will be showing The Blair Witch Project on October 31st at 7pm in SLC 120. This will be our Halloween addition to the Careers, Callings, and Readiness film series. Directed by Eduardo Sánchez and Daniel Myrick, this 1999 mystery/horror film takes you through the lost documentary footage of three aspiring filmmakers and their journey on finding out more about the Blair Witch.
Preview: Finding Home in Boomtown (2019, dir. Matthew Maxwell)
Finding Home in Boomtown’s charismatic characters shape the film and give it voice, balancing its serious tone with a sense of humor and making for an emotionally impactful, raw documentary that will leave audience members with tears in their eyes.
Preview: Sorry to Bother You (2018, dir. Boots Riley)
Sorry to Bother You speaks to one’s career readiness, as well as the conflicts and callings one might face in their career. Its satire drives home the importance of moral integrity, self-knowledge, and–surprisingly–union representation.
Preview: 17 Blocks (2019, dir. Davy Rothbart)
Director Davy Rothbart’s award-winning documentary 17 Blocks shows us four generations of an African-American family struggling through tragedy and looking for hope. Rothbart will visit Winona State with his film Oct. 22, 2019, at 7 pm in Stark 103 Miller Auditorium.
Preview: The Greatest Showman (2017, dir. Michael Gracey)
2017’s The Greatest Showman, starring Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, and Zendaya, faced criticism for historical inaccuracy but wowed audiences with its charismatic cast and ebullient song-and-dance numbers.
Preview: North Country (2005, dir. Niki Caro)
In North Country (2005, dir. Niki Caro), Academy Award-winning actress Charlize Theron stars in the inspiring true story of women pursuing careers and facing harassment in northern Minnesota’s mining industry in the 1980s.
The Interpreters: The War Story You Need to Hear
Directed by New York-based filmmakers Andres Caballero and Sofian Khan, The Interpreters follows the successes, struggles, and tragedies that its subjects–Iraqi and Afghan interpreters Malik, Mujtaba, and Phillip–experience as they attempt to obtain visas and escape with their families to the U.S.
The Mayo Clinic: Faith, Hope, Science–And a Glimpse into Medical History
Unveiling the journey of the world-renowned Mayo Clinic, this documentary offers a look into real-time patients, their trusted medical teams and the story of the original, founding Mayo family.
Gaelynn Lea: The Songs We Sing
A short film documentary on a Minnesota traveling musician and disability activist, Gaelynn Lea: The Songs We Sing captures both Lea’s story as a musician overcoming disability and the wilderness of Duluth, mixing together to create a beautiful story both visually and thematically.
Eating Animals: The Dangers of Modern Farming Practices
A film that is unapologetic in its spread of the truth behind the food that hits the dinner table for families every single day, Eating Animals unveils the dangerous and current practices of factory farming.
Adventure Not War: A Message for Post-War Peace
Adventure Not War (2017) follows veteran Stacey Bare and fellow veterans along beautiful scenery as they each attempt to find not only closure, but also promote peace and harmony following their services in war.
Free Solo: An Achievement in Climbing and Filmmaking
Winner at the 2019 Academy Awards, Free Solo is a pulse-racing documentary facing both great heights and great morality, all while capturing nearly impossible shots of a 3,000 foot rock formation and the man who dared climb it.
Betrayal, Violence, and Thrills: An Action Short Film Set
Winona State Film Studies students demonstrate their action genre knowledge and created their own action short films.
Exploring Resilience Through Film
Co-authored by: Morghan Lemmenes and Joe Van Ryn Over the course of October we were delighted to curate a film series revolving around our university theme of Resilience. Each film that we showed truly highlighted different aspects of Resilience. Whether it be a...
Review: A Quiet Place (2018, Dir. John Krasinski)
We have concluded the nine amazing films in our Resilience series, and what better way to end October than showing one of the best scary movies over the last decade the day before Halloween? A Quiet Place is a 2018 drama/thriller directed, co-written, and starring...
Review: The Shape of Water (2017, dir. Guillermo del Toro)
Throughout our Resilience film series we've enjoyed visually-stunning and emotionally-driven documentaries and fictional works. Our most recent screening featured the 2018 Academy award winner for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Score and Best Production...