Film Studies

What is Film Studies?

Think of your favorite film. What did you like about it? The story? The characters? The action? The overall look? If audiovisual culture means more to you than just entertainment, this may be the right major for you.

Students in UWM’s Film Studies program learn about the history, theory and criticism of film and television. We discuss and write about these areas critically; make connections between these media, historical themes and cultural change; analyze the impact of film and television on individuals and society; and compare different media formats.

UWM’s Film Studies program offers a cross-department major and minor that blends courses in Film Studies with classes from English, Art History, Comparative Literature, French, Italian, and Japanese. The program promotes the study of cinema and television in their aesthetic, social, cultural, political and technological contexts and expands students’ understanding of cinema and television as essential components of our global culture.

Save the Archives Benefit Festival

Saturday, September 28, 7:00 pm, Mitchell B91
Sunday, September 29, 3:00 pm, Mitchell B91
Sunday, September 29, 7:00 pm, Union Cinema
Join the Moving Image Society for its second "Save the Archives" benefit festival! Over the course of two days, we will screen 32 films from 11 countries made with "obsolete media" (analog video and celluloid), found footage, and archival films. Read more →

Jocelyn Szczepaniak-Gillece to Co-Host Post-Screening Discussion of Wizard of Oz at UCSB

On Saturday, October 5th, UWM Film Studies Professor Jocelyn Szczepaniak-Gillece will co-host a post-screening discussion of the special effects of 'The Wizard of Oz' at the University of California-Santa Barbara. Read more →

Professor Bhaskar Sarkar Lectures on “Cosmoplastics, or, Bollywood’s Global Gesture”

Indian cinema, more specifically the Bombay-based Hindi cinema industry, is now widely referred to as Bollywood. What work has this portmanteau term been doing as the industry has "gone global"? Read more →

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

College of Letters & ScienceFilm Studies Program

Discover the history, theory and criticism of film and television