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Cinema, Media Arts, and Theatre
Cinema, Media Arts, and Theatre

Film Seminars, Series, and Festivals

Film Theory and Visual Culture Seminar

Hosted by the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities and coordinated by CMAT faculty, this seminar meets three or four times a semester to hear presentations by visiting scholars or by Vanderbilt’s own faculty and graduate students. The topics are wide-ranging and cover the areas of film, visual culture, art history, literature, cultural studies, theories of the image, philosophies of perception, aesthetics and critical theory, media histories, and the history of vision. Attendees should RSVP for individual meetings through the Robert Penn Warren Center website. All seminars are free and open to the Vanderbilt community. See our archive of past seminars.

International Lens

A film series with a global perspective, iLens provides a forum to encourage conversation and cross-cultural understanding. Screenings are free and held in Sarratt Cinema. See website for more details

Point of VU Student Film Festival

Point of VU, organized by students for students, aims to showcase short films created by university-admitted filmmakers from the Middle Tennessee region, utilizing the extensive and excellent resources that Vanderbilt University and CMAT have to offer. At its core, Point of VU exists to remind us that the soul of filmmaking lies in the courage, conviction, and craft it takes to tell a story; we honor the belief that film moves us towards a more compassionate and connected world. It provides an ambitious environment for emerging filmmakers to present their work, fostering connections with the independent filmmaking community as a whole. Held each spring on Vanderbilt’s campus, Point of VU features competitive student film blocks, panel discussions, guest speakers, and networking opportunities. Students interested in getting involved in the festival should contact Mariah Kramer.