Ali Mirsepassi, Albert Gallatin Research Excellence Professor of Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies in NYU’s Gallatin School and Department of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, will present this documentary, which he co-created with Hamed Yousefi. The film explores the life and thought of Iranian philosopher Ahmad Fardid (1910-1994) in his intellectual crusade to halt rising Western influence in Iran. 85 min.
In 1983, television producer and journalist Joseph Lovett successfully pleaded with ABC's 20/20 executives to create the first investigative reports on AIDS for network TV. He will show selected video clips (50 min.) and discuss the responsibility and the difficulties of reporting on a plague during a decade of discrimination.
Directed by Joseph Lovett, this film documents gay life in New York—from Greenwich Village to the Fire Island Pines—during the decade of liberation and sexual abandon following Stonewall and before the outbreak of AIDS. Gay men cruised the streets, frequented gay bars, and had loads and loads of sex. Only twelve years after Stonewall, AIDS brought this unprecedented era of sexual freedom to a close.
Perry Mason (1957–1966, CBS-TV) is known for its formulaic plots—attorney Mason (Raymond Burr) defends an innocent client and forces the real murderer to confess in a courtroom finale. With its stylish noir filming, outdoor locations, and deep background characterizations, the series arguably also featured a prescient queer subtext. Burr was a gay man who led a covert life, but on the show, Mason is consistently paired with his investigator, Paul Drake (William Hopper), in harmonious, sometimes domestic contexts—especially notable in the episode we'll screen: The Case of the Borrowed Baby (1962).
Years before they moved to Hollywood, four young German filmmakers—later noir masters Robert Siodmak and Edgar G. Ulmer, and future Oscar winners Billy Wilder and Fred Zinneman—collaborated on this effervescent, sunlit silent about city dwellers enjoying a weekend outing in Weimar-era Berlin. Combining documentary footage with dramatic storytelling, this experimental film became a mainstream hit, presaging both Italian neorealism and the French New Wave. 73 min., black-and-white, silent.
Co-sponsored by NYU’s Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò; Center for Applied Liberal Arts, School of Professional Studies; and Grey Art Gallery. Co-presented by The Criterion Collection. RSVP to casaitaliananyu.org. (Non-member RSVP does not guarantee a seat.)
Co-sponsored by NYU’s Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies and Grey Art Gallery.
Co-sponsored by NYU’s Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò; Center for Applied Liberal Arts, School of Professional Studies; and Grey Art Gallery. Co-presented by The Criterion Collection. RSVP to casaitaliananyu.org. (Non-member RSVP does not guarantee a seat.)
Co-sponsored by NYU’s Center for Media, Culture and History; Department of Cinema Studies; Glucksman Ireland House; and Grey Art Gallery.
Co-sponsored by NYU’s Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò; Center for Applied Liberal Arts, School of Professional Studies; and Grey Art Gallery. Co-presented by The Criterion Collection. RSVP to casaitaliananyu.org. (Non-member RSVP does not guarantee a seat.)