Nation and Its Fragments: Experimental Films from India This program brings together experimental films from India that reckon with the history of the Indian nation and its fragments.

Book tickets here: www.academymuseum.org/en/programs/...

LA folks, don't miss this Thursday's screening of short experimental films from India: 'Nation and its Fragments' co-curated by Sean Batton and me at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.

The final episode of the podcast Animal-Vegetable-Mineral: A Podcast About All Things Documentary is now out -- our conversation with the Moroccan film director Asmae El Moudir about her fascinating film "The Mother of All Lies." Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts: open.spotify.com/episode/43rH...

📣Here's the third episode of our podcast series "Animal, Vegetable, Mineral: A Podcast About All Things Documentary".
Of the interviews for our series, this one is, in some sense, the closest to this podcast’s concerns about the relationship between documentary film and the world.
Happy Listening!

An interview with Italian eco-filmmaker Michelangelo Frammartino Animal, Vegetable, Mineral: The Podcast About All Things Documentary · Episode

The 3rd episode of "Animal, Vegetable, Mineral: A Podcast About All Things Documentary" features a fascinating interview with the Italian eco-filmmaker Michelangelo Frammartino. Check it out! @suninthebelly.bsky.social @alisalebow.bsky.social
open.spotify.com/episode/0E4K...

📣Friends, we are so excited to share episode two of our podcast "Animal, Vegetable, Mineral: A Podcast About All Things Documentary." Go give it a listen and do share your feedback!

Deirdre Boyle on her new book about Cambodian filmmaker Rithy Panh Animal, Vegetable, Mineral: The Podcast About All Things Documentary · Episode

The 2nd episode of "Animal, Vegetable, Mineral: A Podcast About All Things Documentary": open.spotify.com/episode/4JY8...
featuring Alisa's interview with Deirdre Boyle on her new book about Rithy Panh, Cambodia's most important filmmaker.
@alisalebow.bsky.social, @suninthebelly.bsky.social

Friends heading to SCMS Chicago, please come to our Friday morning panel "Videographic Approaches to Indian Cinema" organized by Neepa Majumdar, and with Anupama Prabhala, and Pavitra Sundar.
Here's a little sneak peek on what I am presenting

Podcast sponsored by Reframe, University of Sussex
Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
reframe.sussex.ac.uk/avm1/

In Ep.1 of Animal Vegetable Mineral: A Podcast About All Things Documentary, co-hosts @topiaryland.bsky.social
and @alisalebow.bsky.social along with special guest Toby Ashworth talk about Sara Dosa’s film Fire of Love (2022) and Werner Herzog’s requiem The Fire Within (2022).
tinyurl.com/3deckwcd

Introducing 📣
Animal Vegetable Mineral: A Podcast About All Things Documentary
A series of four audio episodes that delve into some of the current themes and debates in the field of documentary studies.
Co-produced by: @alisalebow.bsky.social @topiaryland.bsky.social, and me.

Congratulations to FTV’s Tiago de Luca and Chris O’Rourke, who are both shortlisted for the ‘Best Article or Chapter’ award for BAFTSS 2025.

Just announced: Block Cinema hosts an offsite screening of THE WAITING ROOM, Karen Sperling's dreamlike narrative feature shot inside a mental institution by a 53-woman crew in 1973 and never released. Filmmaker in attendance! Screening 4/3 at Abbott Hall in downtown Chicago. RSVP bit.ly/NUSperl

Out now… and in open access!
It can be read and download here: link.springer.com/book/10.1007...

This Wednesday at University College London

UCL Film Studies Speaker Series: Ritika Kaushik (University of Warwick) State-Sponsored Documentary Asks the Woman’s Question: Developmental Montage and Configurations of Indian Women.

Friends in London, I will be giving a talk titled " State-Sponsored Documentary Asks the Woman’s Question"
at UCL on the 29th. Hope to see some familiar faces there.
www.ucl.ac.uk/european-lan...

In week 2, we looked at Soviet Montage and watched my all time favourite Fragment of an Empire (Fridrikh Ermler, 1929). This clip does not do justice to a montage that is about a 150 shots but I am sharing it anyway as it is one of the best scenes in film history.

We began with Bill Morrison's Dawson City: Frozen Time (2016) to lay out the relations between film and history. It was helpful to take the students through Sobchack's What is Film History? and show clips from The Lost City of Cecil B. DeMille.

Teaching a film history and methods module for non-major students this term. It is a peculiar challenge to get them interested in film history but also get them excited about historical methods. Welcoming suggestions on what readings people use. I will be sharing weekly what we are doing in class

😭😭

a cartoon character is sitting at a desk with her eyes closed and a pearl necklace . ALT: a cartoon character is sitting at a desk with her eyes closed and a pearl necklace .

Was missing some books and thought I would reread them, only to realize that we gave them away in the frenzy of scaling down during moving. It is that feeling of missing a friend whom you can no longer reach

If you are attending the Visible Evidence XXX conference, do come for our panel "De-centering Histories and Geographies: New Practices and Aesthetics in Indian Non-fiction".
I am presenting online and now need to calculate how much caffeine I need to be alert at 5:00 am BST

tomorrow on my South Asian Cinema module

It has been such a privilege to have been part of the first GC group for the past three years and contribute to the VE community, which I value so much!

Topiary Landberg, @jmalitsky.bsky.social, and I just had our last meeting as elected members of the Visible Evidence Governing Council. Cheers to the incoming members Ilona Hongisto, Kim Munro, and Narmeen Ijaz and the exciting road ahead!
www.visibleevidence.org/visible-evid...

Great! Would love to be added to the classic cinema list. I teach film history and analysis

Hooray! The new issue of Media + Environment is out! It's coedited by Priya Jaikumar and Lee Grieveson and is dedicated to media and extraction:

mediaenviron.org/issue/11072

tell me you are an academic without telling me you are an academic

Very exciting!!