12 Day 4: Filmmakers from the Silent Era (1896-1931) 1.Screening: Ask students to take notes while watching these short documentaries about Marion E. Wong and William D. Foster, as well as the trailer for the feature-length documentary about Alice Guy Blaché. They will choose one that they want to learn more about. *These screenings could also be assigned as homework so that students come to class with some knowledge about each filmmaker. a.Short Documentary (8:24) about Marion E. Wong: She Made the First Asian American Film. Then History Forgot Her. b.Trailer for Be Natural (2:24), a documentary about Alice Guy Blaché: BE NATURAL: THE UNTOLD STORY OF ALICE GUY-BLACHÉ - official US trailer c.A short documentary (3:35) about William D. Foster from the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures: Filmmaker Profile: William Foster 2.Researching: Allow students to choose one filmmaker from the screenings. Each student will independently research the filmmaker and share their findings with a small group. Ideally, students will be grouped with others who chose different filmmakers so they can learn from each other. a.Provide the following resources: i.AFI Catalog ii.A short article about Alice Guy Blaché from Columbia’s Women Film Pioneers Project. iii.A short article about William Foster iv.AFI Catalog Spotlight: THE CURSE OF QUON GWON and Marion E. Wong v.Or a short article on Marion E. Wong from Columbia’s Women Film Pioneers Project. b.In journals, notebooks, or on their computers, ask students to take notes on each filmmaker, focusing on: i.Biographical Information (e.g., Where did they live and work, what years were they active as filmmakers, what jobs did they have on each film?) ii.Films (how many films did they make, did they have a production company, what were their films about?) iii.The filmmaker’s accomplishments and the challenges they faced. c.In small groups, ask students to teach each other about the filmmaker they have researched. This jigsaw-style activity is designed to facilitate peer-to-peer teaching and collaboration. These small group discussions can serve as a formative assessment. 3.Reflection: Ask each group to share their knowledge about the filmmakers with the larger group. What did they learn? Did anything surprise them? Extension - Culminating Project Ask students to find a contemporary director they are interested in learning more about, watch one of their films if possible, and create a short presentation about the filmmaker. Students can search the AFI Catalog or other databases such as IMDb, or simply conduct internet searches for “Female Directors,” “Latin Directors,” “Black Directors,” “Asian Directors” and so on. Some examples might include Greta Gerwig, Alfonso Cuarón, Ava Duverney, Wong Kar-wai, Jordan Peele, and many others. In their presentation/slideshow, they can include slides for: 1.Biographical information and photos 2.Films (including titles, dates, synopsis or tagline, and film stills*) 3.A summary of one film (including characters, setting, story/message, style, and film stills) 4.*for film stills, students can use databases such as Shot Deck
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