Media releases

• Brock film series moves to Performing Arts Centre for new season

  Friday, September 14, 2018 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 14 September 2018 – R00165

  Brock University Film Society (BUFS) is launching its new season with a well-known partner on board.

  The longstanding movie series will begin its latest run at the end of the month in collaboration with The Film House at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre (PAC).

  Screenings will take place at the downtown St. Catharines theatre over the course of 11 weeks — and cinema buffs will not want to miss a scene.

  With the advent of streaming sites and changes to the way films are distributed, people are tempted to watch movies at home. But Scott Henderson, a professor in the Department of Communication, Popular Culture and Film, and one of the people behind BUFS, wants to challenge that idea. According to Henderson, there’s more to watching a movie than just hitting play.

  “Many smaller films don’t make it to the big screens of the multiplex. These are often the ‘buzz’ films from festivals that show up on ‘best of’ lists compiled by critics at the end of the year, and become part of the Oscar discussion,” Henderson says. “The BUFS lineup is an opportunity for Niagara film lovers to see these hotly tipped films on a big screen, and also glean insight from Brock’s Film Studies professors.”

  The Sept. 20 season opener, Paul Schrader’s First Reformed, even has a small Brock connection. Schrader’s piece on film noir was a staple in all four editions of retired Brock Professor Barry Grant’s book Film Genre Reader. Grant, of course, has had a long connection to BUFS and his contributions to film culture in Niagara are well known. Many film lovers in the community first encountered the study of film in his first-year course.

  The lineup continues with such titles as Let the Sunshine In, Sorry to Bother You, Papillon, and others. Check out the BUFS page for a full list of this season’s selections. A calendar of films coming to PAC over the next couple of months is posted on The Film House website. Look for the red B that indicates a BUFS-hosted screening.

  For more than 40 years, the Department of Communication, Popular Culture and Film has hosted the film society (also previously known as a series) to bring some of the best in independent, international and Canadian cinema to St. Catharines.

  Tickets are available at the Film House on the evening of screenings. General admission is $9 or $7 for members, plus tax. Memberships are available through the Film House website.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Dan Dakin, Manager Communications and Media Relations, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

   Brock University Marketing and Communications has a full-service studio where we can provide high definition video and broadcast-quality audio.

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  Categories: Media releases

• Brock part of international project commemorating heroes of First World War

  Thursday, September 13, 2018 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 13 September 2018 – R00164

  For 12 hours each day for 61 days, the names of those killed in the First World War will scroll across video screens in Niagara and around the world. Sadly, it will take from now until Remembrance Day to recognize the more than one million men and women killed on both sides of the conflict.

  This November marks the centenary of the end of the First World War, and Brock University is involved in The World Remembers, a Canadian-led international project to commemorate those killed during the war and those who died of their injuries in the years that followed.

  On Wednesday, Sept. 12, the names of the dead from 16 nations on both sides of the conflict started appearing on four screens in Niagara, as well as across Canada, the U.S., Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Each name will appear on a precise day, hour and minute.

  The multiple sites allow as many students, staff, faculty and members of the Niagara community as possible to participate in this shared commemoration, says Elizabeth Vlossak, Associate Professor of History and Director of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts.

  “The displays become destinations as people make their way to the nearest location to view the names of lost relatives or family friends,” she says. “But the displays also disrupt public spaces, as we witness and remember the more than one million men and women who died in the war.”

  R.H. Thompson, co-producer of The World Remembers says “memory is part of what makes us human.”

  “It is an opportunity to honour the diversity of Canadians caught up in the First World War.”

  The names will run for more than 12 hours each day until Remembrance Day. Additional information and the specific schedule can be found on The World Remembers website.

  Additional information is available at each site in Niagara covering topics such as the experiences of Indigenous people and ethnic minorities in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, the impact of war on mental health and the role of music in the First World War.

  The local installation was initiated by Jim Doherty, President of the Niagara Military Museum, who was inspired by The World Remembers’ earlier projects. Doherty brought the idea to The History Lab collaborators, Associate Professors in the Department of History Elizabeth Vlossak and Maria del Carmen Suescun Pozas.

  Four locations have been chosen for the display. At Brock, the names can be seen in the Matheson Learning Commons and in the library of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts. The Niagara Falls Public Library is also hosting the display at their Victoria Avenue and MacBain Community Centre branches.

  “We are so pleased to be a part of this project, especially at this time of year when we formally honour and remember our veterans,” says Alicia Subnaik Kilgour, CEO and Chief Librarian at Niagara Falls Public Library. “This is such a thoughtful way to commemorate and remember the sacrifices made by some of our Canadian veterans from the First World War.”

  The presentation is a collaboration between the History Lab, Niagara Falls Public Library, the Department of History, the Centre for Canadian Studies, the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts and Brock’s Marketing and Communications department.

  The final name in the display will appear at sunset on Nov. 11 and a special commemoration event is being planned.

  What: The World Remembers

  Where: Matheson Learning Commons and the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, Brock University; Niagara Falls Public Library Victoria Avenue and MacBain Community Centre branches

  When: Daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. until Nov. 11

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Dan Dakin, Manager Communications and Media Relations, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

   Brock University Marketing and Communications has a full-service studio where we can provide high definition video and broadcast-quality audio.

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  Categories: Media releases