Cinematic Migrations is a two-year collaborative research and production project initiated by Renée Green (Free Agent Media) and is co-hosted by the MIT Visiting Artists Program and ACT.

The work of filmmaker John Akomfrah and producer Lina Gopaul (Smoking Dogs Films, and founding members of the seminal UK-based Black Audio Film Collective) is a focal point in our investigation of the theme.

This season’s speakers are filmmakers, artists, and thinkers who explore and engage with cinema in a variety of formats, genres, and contexts. Their work often raises provocative questions regarding aesthetic, cultural, national, and economic borders. The discussions in this series explore a variety of cinematic spheres—essayistic, documentary, experimental, independent, activist, and commercial—designations that are experiencing redefinition and permutation. Cinematic Migrations is a multi-faceted look at the role of cinema’s transmutations over time and its worldwide and circuitous shifts.

Lecture Series Schedule

February 25
Arthur Jafa, Artist, filmmaker, and cinematographer

March 4
John Akomfrah, OBE, Director, filmmaker, and writer, Smoking Dogs Films, UK
Lina Gopaul, Producer and writer, Smoking Dogs Films, UK

March 11
Karim Aïnouz, Filmmaker and artist

March 18
Knut Åsdam, Artist and filmmaker

April 8
Nora Alter, Chair and Professor of Film and Media Arts at Temple University

April 29
Simin Farkhondeh, Independent filmmaker, artist, educator, and activist

act.mit.edu