Film Appreciation course in the Dept of English and Cultural Studies

Chandigarh, February 9, 2019: Panjab University(PU) : The five-day film appreciation course being taught by the filmmakers under the joint aegis of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII),Pune and the Department of English and Cultural Studies is being attended by the film enthusiasts and film lovers from the North region. The technical sessions being taught include outlining the evolution of camera, development of cinematograph in Europe and in India, early techniques in cinema through examples drawn from popular and well known films. The participants are benefiting from the technical knowledge of the filmmakers and find themselves well engaged through the various personal and professional anecdotes narrated by the two instructors, Shri Pankaj Saxena and Shri Munish Bhardwaj. While most of the sessions are in the instructional and informal talk mode, it is the interactive sessions about films being shown which have enthused the participants the most, as they get to share their experiences with each other and it becomes a matter of situated learning. Participants are drawn not only from the tri-city but have come from other parts of the country. The best part of the course is that it is being conducted mostly in an informal, colloquial Hindi, therefore becoming accessible to everyone. Films of Charlie Chaplin, DG Phalke and George Méli?s, Edwin Porter have been screened along with clips drawn from silent era films. Other than the participants of the course, research students are also benefiting from observing how films create public discourses by getting to sample the audience response.