International Film Conference IV: The Cinematic Apparatus: Technology as Historical and Ideological Form
February 22-24, 1978
with Michel Benamou, David Bordwell, Peter Wollen, Ron Burnett, Jeanne Allen, Stephen Heath, Jean-Louis Comolli, Kristin Thompson, Edward Branigan, Dudley Andrew, Claudia Gorbman, Douglas Gomery, Mary Ann Doane, Dana Gordon, Bill Nichols, Joe Anderson, Stephen Fagin, Aimee Rankin, Patricia Erens, Sandy Flitterman, Laura Mulvey, Patricia Mellencamp, Peter Gidal, Maureen Turim, Judith Mayne, Teresa de Laurentis, and Christian Metz
The Cinematic Apparatus was the fourth international film conference sponsored by the Center. It was held February 22-24, 1978, and took place in the UWM Student Union’s Wisconsin Room, with some sessions in the Fireplace Lounge as well. The conference was advertised as a working situation for film theory, unique in the Anglo-American context, and it was designed for “a small number of active participants who write theoretically on cinema.” The conference was organized by Teresa de Lauretis and Stephen Heath, and many of the papers and discussions from the conference resulted in the book, The Cinematic Apparatus (edited by Teresa de Lauretis and Stephen Heath).
View of one of the sessions held in the Wisconsin Room
February 22, 1978
Welcoming Remarks: Michel Benamou
Discussion Section #1: TECHNOLOGY, HISTORY, IDEOLOGY
Moderator: David Bordwell
Presentations: Peter Wollen, Ron Burnett, Jeanne Allen
Discussion Section #2: TECHNOLOGY, HISTORY, IDEOLOGY
Moderator/translator: Stephen Heath
Response: Jean-Louis Comolli
Discussion Session #3: COLOR
Moderator: Kristin Thompson
Presentations: Edward Branigan, Dudley Andrew
Film: La Cecilia
Moderator/translator: Michel Benamou
Discussion with Jean-Louis Comolli, filmmaker
Filmmaker Jean-Louis Comolli
February 23, 1978
Discussion Session #4: SOUND
Moderator: Claudia Gorbman
Presentations: Douglas Gomery, Mary Ann Doane
Discussion Session #5: CAMERA, IMAGE AND MOVEMENT
Moderator: Dana Gordon
Presentations: Bill Nichols, Joe Anderson
Discussion Session #6: Film Presentation
Stephen Fagin and Aimee Rankin: Woman Discourse Flow
Moderator: Patricia Erens
Film: Riddles of the Sphinx
Moderator: Sandy Flitterman
Discussion with Laura Mulvey and Peter Wollen, filmmakers
February 24, 1978
Discussion Session #7: AVANT-GARDE FILM: TECHNOLOGY AND APPARATUS
Moderator: Patricia Mellencamp
Film: Condition of Illusion, Peter Gidal
Presentations: Peter Gidal, Maureen Turim
Response: Laura Mulvey
Women’s lunch and Discussion Session #8: FEMINIST PERSPECTIVES
Moderator: Judith Mayne
Discussion Session #9: TECHNOLOGY, HISTORY, IDEOLOGY: THE CINEMATIC APPARATUS
Moderator: Teresa de Lauretis
Presentations: Christian Metz, Stephen Heath
Remarks on Future Activities
Michel Benamou
Original Conference Program:
