UMF Welcomes Cinema Verite
April 18, 2023
Rowan Fitzgerald, Contributing Writer
On April 15 and 16 UMF will be hosting filmmakers Chih-Hsuan Liang and Joe Duva who will be presenting their documentary Man From Pretensia and offer a workshop on the filmmaking style cinema verite to students.
Both Liang and Duva are accomplished filmmakers with a long resume of unique and distinct works in which they made their bones with. Later this month, they will feature a documentary following the life of Paul Bridgewater, a deeply-respected New York art world figure who, during the ‘80’s East Village art scene, became known for discovering and supporting some of its artists who would go on to achieve even greater things. This documentary is a work in progress and will be shown to students at the Emery Community Arts centers where a Q&A session will take place after the showing.
Featuring their latest work isn’t the only reason that brings Liang and Duva to UMF, however. During the weekend of April 15 and 16, they will be hosting a workshop for students to participate in which will offer the opportunity to experiment with the filmmaking style that Man From Pretensia was shot in: cinema verite.
“It’s basically this fly on the wall cinematography,” Amy Neswald, assistant professor of creative writing and coordinator of this event, explained when asked about cinema verite. “It looks at intimate portraits of people in their natural environments doing the things that they do. It’s been used in documentaries often… it's the state of looking through a lens and being a quiet observer.”
This biographical way of storytelling is a staple in documentary filmmaking and this workshop offers an opportunity to learn industry secrets and tricks. Students will have the chance to use DSLR cameras to go out and create short films that will be featured at the end of the two-day workshop.
UMF’s creative culture has always been diverse with students seeming to dip their toes in multiple creative outlets; however, extracurriculars involving filmmaking have been few and far between. The Film Club has only recently made a return and, while there are classes that teach aspects of filmmaking, there isn’t enough attention dedicated to it.
Victoria Oliveira, a second-year student and creative writing and english double major, expressed great interest in this event.
“I kind of jumped on the opportunity,” Oliveira said. “It sounds super cool. I took screenwriting in fall of 2022 and it was a really fun experience. I want to do more with film in the future and this seems like a really good experience for that.”
While this event is open to the public, there are a limited number of seats available which correlates to the limited amount of equipment available to those that attend. It makes sense that students would jump on the chance to learn from well-respected and successful filmmakers.
“It’s just a different type of film that I’m used to working with. I’m always up for learning about different ways that stories can be told in a medium,” Oliveira explained. “It’s a little bit out of my wheelhouse and I’d like to expand said wheelhouse.”
There is a sense of excitement that comes with the end of the academic year and it seems the creative writing department is pushing out all of the opportunities it can for its undergraduates as the semester winds down. Many students have already secured their spots for this workshop. For those that are interested, Amy Neswald or Dawn Nye are the points of contact for this event and recommend everyone should experience what Liang and Duva are trying to create.
“I hope that using a camera in a different way… trying to capture angles and content, kind of a movement and sense of vision is something that I hope people walk away with–a deeper appreciation for the work that it takes to make a film,” Neswald commented.
