School of Film and Media Studies

Maya Man, an artist focused on contemporary identity culture on the internet, will speak about contemporary issues in digital culture and internet art. Her work examines dominant narratives around femininity, authenticity, and the performance of self. 

 All are invited to participate in a facilitated discussion. 

Blue Angel is “the first full-length German talking picture, and it fused the erotic and economic dimensions of “Weimar sexuality” in all its decadence and despair.” (The Guardian)

Shown tonight on 16MM, Blue Angel is on loan from the Purchase Film Archive and presented by Lauren Wren, Purchase College Cinema and Television Studies alumna and former Cinemaroll Journal and Purchase Film Archive student. Following the screening, Ms. Wren leads a discussion of 16MM film and post-grad opportunities for work in archival film.

“The Blue Angel pulls off an amazing trick — it takes an old chestnut of a mismatched love story and follows it through, mainly within the walls of a fantastically low nightclub, yet Von Sternberg’s directing somehow makes it all fresh.” (Feminema)

May is “an odd blend of romantic comedy and slasher film. As a child May was lonely, ostracised by the other children for her lazy eye. Her only friend was Suzie, a creepy beatified doll encased in a glass cabinet. Now she is a veterinary nurse and amateur seamstress. With newly corrected vision, she sets out in the world to find love and companionship.” (Eye for Film UK)

Notable for its eerie and cult classic character performances, and staunch late 90s/early 2000s indie horror aesthetics “May herself is an amazingly complex character played so sweetly by Bettis. Layers and layers built on low self esteem, desire for perfection and the love of sewing. Her connections to the people in her life are odd and awkward. Yet, her love of morbid tales and mortality is done with relish and lust. Little hints of darkness are expressed through facial features or the clever use of props. This is where May shines the most. The details.” (The Alternative)