Movie Mavericks: Filmmakers Who Challenge the Hollywood System

Patrick Anderson focuses on contemporary film directors and screenwriters in the United States whose originality, independence and unconventional approaches to the medium have contributed to the evolution of the industry. The program enables a greater understanding of and appreciation for both the content and form of movies made outside the mainstream Hollywood system, and considers some of the key differences in theme, style and narrative format between these works and the more conventional fare of so-called "classic cinema." Among the filmmakers to be examined are Steven Soderbergh, David Lynch, John Sayles, Spike Lee, Quentin Tarantino, the Coen brothers, Wes Anderson, Sofia Coppola, P.T. Anderson, Jim Jarmusch and Charlie Kaufman. Patrick Anderson urges participants to view and analyze a variety of film clips carefully so that, by the end of the session, they will be more visually articulate and critically aware of how one "reads" a film.