Articles tagged with: Film Studies

  • Professor Emeritus Barry Grant Releases New Book About Director Peter Jackson

    Wednesday, April 08, 2026 | By

    A photo of a man next to the cover image of his book that features a photo of director Peter Jackson

    Dr. Barry Grant, Professor Emeritus from the Department of Communication, Popular Culture and Film, has released a new book – Peter Jackson: Film Authorship in a Global Hollywood.  Tracing Jackson’s trajectory through detailed textual analysis, Dr. Grant examines how he mobilizes the conventions of Hollywood film genres to speak to audiences in his home country of New Zealand, as well as engage audiences around the world. Dr. Grant is an internationally known film critic and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. His book delivers thoughtful close readings of every Jackson film.

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    Categories: News

  • Dr. Barry Grant Helps Celebrate 50 years of BUFS

    Monday, January 19, 2026 | By

    Th movie poster for avid Cronenberg's Shivers features an illustration of a woman in a bathtub with blood running over the side. Best to the poster is a photo of Dr. Barry Grant.

    Professor Emeritus and Internationally Recognized Horror Scholar, Dr. Barry Grant, will be in attendance to introduce the next film in this year’s anniversary series: Shivers (1975)!

    The Brock University Film Society’s “Festival of 50” continues Thursday, January 22 at the Niagara Artist Centre’s Microcinema, with a screening of David Cronenberg’s Shivers (1975). We’ve been revisiting some of the most important films that were released in 1975, the year BUFS was founded, and this is the first of two screenings co-sponsored by the Centre for Canadian Studies that are focusing on Canadian cinema (Canadian exploitation cinema, or Canuxploitation, to be more accurate).

    Shivers, of course, was the film that launched Cronenberg as a horror specialist and set him on a path to becoming one of the great auteur filmmakers of the last half century. It’s the film that prompted fans and critics to nickname Cronenberg “the Baron of Blood” and “the King of Venereal Horror.” It’s also a film that caused a furor when it was released in 1975 because of the fact that it had been financed in part by the Canadian Film Development Corporation. As Robert Fulford put it to his Canadian readers in the pages of Saturday Night, “You should know how bad this film is. After all, you paid for it.” How “bad” is Shivers? There’s only one way to find out.

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    Categories: Events

  • The Film Production Class Starts Rolling

    Wednesday, November 19, 2025 | By

    A close-up of hands holding a film slate with info on it referring to the current scene, shot and take. In the background a group of students can be seen handling production equipment, and setting up the camera.

    After spending the last few weeks familiarizing themselves with the department’s camera, lighting and sound equipment, Andrew Martiniuk and his class of young filmmakers started shooting a scene as a crew.

    Every take required the students to work as a team.  Everyone had their part to play: gear to check, lines to learn and directions to follow.  As they moved through each setup, students found themselves drawing on the theory and history they have studied in their coursework. Film concepts were no longer abstract ideas. Instead, they became practical tools that guided the students’ creative decisions.

    With Martiniuk’s guidance, the class navigated everything from blocking actors to adjusting light levels, and they discovered how collaborative and dynamic a working set can be.

    Check out the Gallery to see the crew at work.

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    Categories: News

  • CPCF Meets Prospective Students at the Ontario Universities Fair

    Wednesday, October 01, 2025 | By

    A man in a Red Brock University shirt gestures as he speaks to a gathering of students, professors and parents.

    This past weekend, the Ontario Universities Fair was held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. OUF is the main recruiting event for Brock University, as the two-day event draws over 80,000 prospective students and their families annually, and CPCF was well represented.

    Staff, faculty, and student representatives promoted our Communication and Film programs. It is always a great opportunity for CPCF to meet prospective students and share how our programs offer fresh, relevant ways to understand the world we live in. Department Chair Dr. Derek Foster was there to share his enthusiasm and “looks forward to seeing many more potential CPCF students at Brock’s Fall Preview Day on Sunday, November 2nd.”

    If you are interested in the programs offered by the Department of Communication, Popular Culture and Film, have a look at the courses offered here.

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  • Professor Joan Nicks Returns to the Niagara Falls Museum for the Fall Film Series

    Monday, September 22, 2025 | By

    a Woman in a white shirt and blue jeans leans against a white pillar in front of a white house and bench.

    Over 10 years ago, CPCF’s Adjunct Professor Joan Nicks was approached by the Niagara Falls History Museum to program a public film series, and today it is still going strong. Professor Nicks curates two series a year, one in the fall and one in the winter. On September 25th, the newest series begins with “Borders – Crossing the Line North and South.”

    Each series has its own theme. This fall, it is “borders” and how particular genres, from westerns to crime films, characterize border themes. Professor Nicks explains that it “fits today’s social and cultural currents of unstable borders, something people in the Niagara Region understand directly.”

    Every film receives an introduction from Professor Nicks, followed by a lively discussion with the audience. “Museum audiences are very engaged,” Professor Nicks explains. “Many are regulars from the get-go. Some are first-timers discovering a particular series (and, in some cases, the Museum) for the first time. What they all share is an appetite for a special movie-going experience.”

    The first film in the series is The Grey Fox (Phillip Borsos, 1982). The film is about an aging stagecoach robber who crosses into British Columbia to rob trains and finds romance. For the full line-up and to purchase tickets, check out the Museum’s website. Films are free with a museum membership or $5 at the door.

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    Categories: News