(2019)
by Kênia Freitas
• CORPO CRÍTICO •
Dates: September 3rd to 6th, 2019
Time: 10:30am to 12:00pm
Venue: Teatro João Ceschiatti - Palácio das Artes
Workload: 10 hours
Attendees: 10
CINEMA IN PERSPECTIVE: RECONFIGURING CRITIQUE
Presentation
During times of cultural reconfiguration of social, racial, gender and sexuality dynamics, it has become urgent to think about film criticism in multiple and situated perspectives. Perspectives that incite the consolidation of new audiences and the expansion of the canonic repertoire. Tackling the many standpoints within films, reception and criticism should be a practice that stimulates observation and listening – rather than silencing. More than just a themed approach, during the Corpo Crítico’s [Critical Body] meetings we will propose to identify, in films, how content and form complement and articulate each other.
These articulations may awaken a series of questions: how the narrative focus, points of view and framings are dealt with? How can representation and representativeness be understood beyond visibility? What tensions emerge between opacity and transparency within the political discourse of the films? How narrative genres (and their subversions) put preconceived ideologies and world views into context while also contesting them? More than just answering these questions, we propose a collective task of thinking with them, through a critical elaboration around the films exhibited in the Festival.
This practice of analytical reflection, which has been historically dominated by a specific collective identity – usually consisting of white, intellectual, middle/high-class men – has been claimed as universal. One of today’s challenges is to resettle film criticism, taking into consideration the source of enunciation, points of view and elaborations about the world. A challenge that will be faced collectively during the Critical Body’s meetings at the FestCurtasBH 2019.
Goals
To think about film criticism based on multiple perspectives that instigate the consolidation of distinct gazes and the expansion of filmic and reading repertoires.
Reflecting on forms of enunciation in film production, reception and criticism, taking into consideration places of speech and listening, the narrative focus and framings and the variety of points of view around an artwork.
Approaching formal subjects concerning the possible structures of a critical text, taking into account the array of current formats and the necessity to reconfigure the canonical model.
Articulating formal elements of a film (genres/subgenres, styles, fields etc.) with the formation of discourses and views of the world.
Discussing matters of political representation and representativeness beyond visibility and transparency.
Stimulating and supporting the production of critical essays by the participants, regarding the films exhibited at the Festival.
WORKSHOP SESSIONS PLAN
Session 1. Places of enunciation in cinema
What are the places and forms of enunciation in films? The first meeting will be dedicated to thinking the aesthetic and formal elements (framing, points of view and narrative’s focus) of cinematographic narratives as methods of enunciating, beyond thematic and discursive articulation.
References:
hooks, Bell. “O Olhar Opositivo: Espectadoras Negras”. In: SIQUEIRA, Ana [et al]. Festival Internacional de curtas de Belo Horizonte (catálogo). Belo Horizonte: Fundação Clóvis Salgado.
LIU, Rebecca. “A Criação da Mulher Millennial”. In: Verberenas. Tradução Glênis Cardoso.
Available on: https://www.verberenas.com/article/a-mulher-millennial/
MOMBAÇA, Jota. “Notas estratégicas quanto aos usos políticos do conceito de lugar de fala”. In: Buala, 2017.
Available on: http://www.buala.org/pt/corpo/notas-estrategicas-quanto-aos-usos-politicos-do-conceito-de-lugar-de-fala
“Para todas as moças” (Castiel Vitorino Brasileiro, Brasil, 2019)
Available on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wCsV2LhLTE&t=13s
“Línguas Desatadas” (“Tongues Untied”, Marlon Riggs, 1989)
* * *
Session 2. What can a critical piece be?
In our second meeting, we’ll discuss the definitions and subversions of what film criticism is and what it could be. From the established written format to the video essay, passing by experiments with hypertext on the Internet, we will set a discussion around the functions and goals of critical reflection.
References:
DANEY, Serge. “A derrota do pensamento (crítico)”. Tradução Calac Nogueira. In: Contracampo.
Available on: http://contracampo.com.br/100/artderrotadopensamento.htm
GRANT, Catherine. “Métodos Audiovisuais Para Estudos de Cinema e Mídia”. Palestra de abertura Socine 2017.
Available on: https://catherinegrant.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/socine-keynote-final-low.pdf
FREITAS, Kênia. Fio do Twitter sobre “Nós” (“Us”, Jordan Peele, 2019).
Available on: https://twitter.com/kenialice/status/1111105047142825985
Ensaios audiovisuais em português (Seleção curada por Catherine Grant).
Available on: https://vimeo.com/showcase/4810167
* * *
Session 3. Formal elements and the consolidation of discourses
How can we understand the numerous configurations of narrative coding in cinema as part of consolidating discourses about the world? In our third meeting we will approach how genre and field conventions of films can be perceived in the making of narrative discourses and the relations between filmic repertoire and critical framing.
References:
ALMEIDA, Carol. “Contra a velha cinefilia: uma perspectiva feminista de filiação ao cinema”. In: Fora de Quadro.
Available on: https://foradequadro.com/2017/09/19/contra-a-velha-cinefilia-uma-perspectiva-feminista-de-filiacao-ao-cinema/
AUGUSTO, Heitor. “Problema só dos filmes ou o problema também somos nós?”. In: Urso de Lata.
Available on: https://ursodelata.com/2017/02/09/problema-so-dos-filmes-ou-o-problema-tambem-somos-nos-mostra-de-tiradentes/
FREITAS, Kênia. “Fabulações críticas em curta-metragens negros brasileiros”. In: Multiplot.
Available on: http://multiplotcinema.com.br/2019/03/fabulacoes-criticas-em-curta-metragens-negros-brasileiros/
“Alma no Olho” (Zózimo Bulbul, 1974).
Available on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SI7XV7L0uE
Pumzi (Wanuri Kahiu, 2009).
Available on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlR7l_B86Fc
* * *
Session 4. Aesthetic and political representations - beyond visibility
In our fourth meeting we will reflect on how film criticism deals with aesthetic and political representation and representativeness. Beyond the presence of diverse bodies and of a transparent political stance, in what other ways do films handle these subjects?
References:
GALINDO, Bruno. “Manifesto do Futuro”. In: Sessão Aberta.
WOOD, Robin. “Responsabilidades de um crítico gay de cinema”. Tradução: Heitor Augusto. In: Urso de Lata.
Available on: https://ursodelata.com/2015/10/10/traducao-responsabilidades-de-um-critico-gay-de-cinema/
GLISSANT, Édouard. “Pela Opacidade”. In: Poétique de la relation. Revista Criação & Crítica, n. 1, p. 53-55, 2008. Tradução: Henrique de Toledo Groke e Keila Prado Costa.
“Reassemblage” (Trinh T. Minh-ha, 1982).
Available on: https://vimeo.com/274033791
“Fantasmas” (André Novais Oliveira, 2010).
Available on: https://vimeo.com/33656296
MENTORSHIP
Kênia Freitas is a postdoctoral researcher at Programa de Pós-graduação em Comunicação at UNESP. PhD in Communication and Culture from UFRJ. Master in Multimedia from Unicamp. Graduated in Social Communication/Journalism from UFES. She curated the exhibitions Afrofuturismo: cinema e música em uma diáspora intergaláctica (Caixa Belas Artes/SP, 2015), A Magia da Mulher Negra (Sesc Belenzinho/SP, 2017) and Diretoras Negras no Cinema Brasileiro (Caixa Cultural/DF e RJ, 2017; Sesc Palladium/MG, 2018). She is a film critic for the website Multiplot! and a member of Elviras (Women Film Critics Collective).