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Austin Peay State University to hold Inaugural Film Genre Festival featuring Sci-Fi Classics

Austin Peay State University - APSUClarksville, TN – For five weeks in September and October, aliens, robots and a bleak, dystopian future will cast a shadow over Austin Peay State University’s Art and Design Building as the Department of Languages and Literature and the Film Studies minor present the inaugural Film Genre Festival.

On each Tuesday beginning September 26th and lasting through October 31st, a different film will be shown at 5:00pm in the Art and Design Building, room 120. All screenings are free and include an introduction from the Austin Peay professor who selected the film.

Austin Peay Professor of English literature and Coordinator of the Film Studies Minor, Dr. Jill Franks.
Austin Peay Professor of English literature and Coordinator of the Film Studies Minor, Dr. Jill Franks.

The theme of the inaugural Film Genre Festival is science fiction, with a diverse selection of films chosen to represent a century of cinema and the many perspectives contained under the umbrella of the genre.

Professor of English literature and Coordinator of the Film Studies Minor, Dr. Jill Franks said the films, which include pioneering works like “Metropolis” (1927) and “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968), as well as an international film like the award-winning Spanish-language “Eva” (2011), were chosen by Austin Peay faculty because they each, in their own way, represent the potential for science fiction to examine modern-day issues.

“In selecting the theme of science fiction, I was looking for a genre that would please students and faculty alike,” Franks said. “Science fiction can be used to discuss political philosophy in a very interesting way. It’s popular because the theme allows for creative visual set design and special effects, and it is very cerebral at its core in the philosophical stories it allows people to tell.”

This year’s film slate includes the following selections:

Tuesday, September 26th

Film: Metropolis (1927), Director Fritz Lang
With an introduction by Kell Black (Art)

Tuesday, October 3rd

Film: They Live! (1988), Director John Carpenter
With an introduction by David Guest (Lang. & Lit.)

Tuesday, October 10th

Film: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Director Stanley Kubrick
With an introduction by Jill Franks (Lang. & Lit.)

Tuesday, October 24th

Film: The Matrix (1999), Directors The Wachowski Brothers
With an introduction by Tracy Nichols (Communication)

Tuesday, October 31st

Film: Eva (2011), Director Kike Maíllo
With an introduction by Osvaldo Di Paolo (Lang. & Lit.)

Franks said future festivals will explore other genres and their storytelling potential, with the hope that Austin Peay students and faculty will take the chance to expand their cinematic comfort zones.

“To focus on a different genre each year will help expand our campus community’s tastes a little bit,” Franks said. “People who love film tend to focus on a genre they understand and love, but if we continue to get outside of our usual genre selections, we’ll learn more.”

The Film Genre Festival is co-sponsored by the recently created Film Studies minor. Overseen by Dr. Franks, the minor examines and applies the terms and concepts of film appreciation, theory and criticism. The 18-credit Film Studies Minor will help students develop an understanding of films from several different cultures and gain an ability to analyze films in technical, theoretical, historical and cultural terms.

To explore the Film Studies minor at Austin Peay, visit www.apsu.edu/langlit/filmstudiesminor.php, or contact Franks at franksj@apsu.edu. For more information on the Film Genre Festival, please contact Franks at franksj@apsu.edu

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