Comprehending Cinema (Oxford University Press) and Publication as Autobiography: Occasional and Forsaken Texts - and Endangered Cinema Species (Sticking Place Books), by Professor of Cinema and Media Studies Scott MacDonald, were recently published.
Comprehending Cinema completes MacDonald’s “avant-doc trilogy” for Oxford University Press. Previous volumes are Avant-Doc: Intersections of documentary and Avant-Garde Cinema (2015) and The Sublimity of Document: Cinema as Diorama (2019).
This final volume is described by the publisher as “a collection of in-depth interviews and panoramic essays that models a generalist approach to modern audiovisual media, prioritizing remarkable cinematic accomplishments that can get lost within our overwhelming modern mediascape.”
The description says the book includes “engaging conversations with accomplished filmmakers and essayistic explorations of recent contributions to modern media-making by filmmakers creating a tradition of ‘cine-nocturnes,’ and by filmmakers exploring archival representations of World War 1.”
MacDonald said he hopes the essays in Publication as Autobiography “create awareness of cultural achievements that have remained underserved or are in danger of fading from cultural memory.” Collecting these essays, he said, “allowed [him] to consider how successive decades have transformed [his] writing and how recent developments are transforming the field of cinema and media studies.”
New York University’s Colloquium for Unpopular Culture recently hosted “An Afternoon with Scott MacDonald” in which he discussed his books and his commitment to elevating lesser-known cinematic works. MacDonald is the organizer of Hamilton’s F.I.L.M. (Forum on Image and Language in Motion) Series. He has directed the program for more than 30 years, bringing many of these films – and the people who made them – to campus. Several Hamilton alumni attended the sold-out presentation.
