Film Series

Spring 2024: Europe Through Film: On the Margins

Since 2005, the Nanovic Institute for European Studies has partnered with the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center (DPAC) to use film as a lens to tell European stories. These short film series have explored themes such as cinematic storytelling through documentaries, animation, the Great War on film, contemporary Ukrainian cinema, and the spirit of 1968.

View past introductions & discussions

This spring, the film series focuses on the "margins" (or "peripheries") of Europe. The accompanying course for students is taught by Ricky Herbst, teaching professor of film and cinema program director at DPAC. Admission to all films is free and not limited to course participants; however, tickets should be reserved on DPAC's website.

Film remains an excellent window into various cultures, but we have to analyze why certain windows (don't) exist, what they allow us to (not) see, and the nature of that access. One way to foreground that conversation is through looking at films by, for, and/or about marginalized populations in Europe, which will be the focus of the films, readings, and discussions in this course. With ties to the Nanovic Institute's reoccurring film series, the content of this course will zone in on the relationship between contemporary European cinema and the European ideas and realities it finds compelling in terms of social and imaginative power and to whom it is granted. The course will include some history of cinema, but emphasis will be laid on using cinema as a way of stimulating questions about the nature of Europe today.

Please note that the film series is subject to change, and additional films (for in-person or virtual screenings) may be added. Film screenings are free, but tickets are required. Contact the DeBartolo Performing Arts ticket office at 574-631-2800 or order tickets online.