MIT: Independent Activities Period: IAP

IAP 2013 Activities by Category - Film and Television

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35th Annual Science Fiction Marathon

Jacky Martin

Jan/26 Sat 07:00PM-06:00AM 26-100

Enrollment: Limited: First come, first served (no advance sign-up)
Fee: $8.00 for Admission

The 35th Annual Science Fiction Marathon

Admission is $8, and drops to $5 after Looper.

The 2013 Marathon features four full-length films, one surprise hour-long feature, many short subjects, and a special selection of refreshments! Pizza pre-orders will be taken between WALL-E and Looper for pickup at midnight, and breakfast foods will be available after The Andromeda Strain.

7:00 pm - WALL-E

9:30 pm - Looper

11:45 pm - pizza break

12:30 am - a special surprise!

1:30 am - The Andromeda Strain (1971)

4:00 am - Galaxy Quest

WALL-E (2008)

Disney and Pixar join forces for this computer-animated tale about a wide-eyed robot who travels to the deepest reaches of outer space in search of a newfound friend.

Looper (2012)

A hired gun from the future discovers that his greatest adversary is himself in this twisting sci-fi mindbender starring Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

A Special Surprise! (1967)

The Andromeda Strain (1971)

A space-age disaster occurs when the residents of Piedmont, New Mexico foolishly retrieve and open an off-course satellite.  Based on the best-selling novel by Michael Crichton.

Galaxy Quest (1999)

Twenty years after it was canceled, the five stars of the classic '70s TV series Galaxy Quest are still in costume, making appearances at science fiction conventions for their legions of die-hard fans. But some of those fans are a little more far out than the actors could ever have imagined. Starring Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, and Alan Rickman.

Sponsor(s): LSC
Contact: Jacky Martin, 617-253-3791, lsc@mit.edu


A Very Potter Musical with MIT Quidditch!

Chewy Shaw, Team Captain

Jan/09 Wed 04:00PM-07:00PM 8-119

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

Do you love Harry Potter?!  So do we!  The MIT Quidditch Team does more than just play Quidditch.  Join us every Wednesday this IAP for fun Harry-Potter-related events.  Feel free to come to all of them, or just drop in for half an hour.

 

Wednesday, Jan. 9th (Severus Snape's Birthday!): Play Quidditch (2-4pm on Kresge Oval), then join us for a showing of A Very Potter Musical (4-7pm, room 8-119) with pizza + Chocolate Frogs

 

Sponsor(s): MIT Quidditch
Contact: Jessica Noss, quidditch-execs@mit.edu


A Very Potter Sequel Act 2 with MIT Quidditch!

Chewy Shaw, Team Captain

Jan/23 Wed 04:00PM-07:00PM 8-119

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

Do you love Harry Potter?!  So do we!  The MIT Quidditch Team does more than just play Quidditch.  Join us every Wednesday this IAP for fun Harry-Potter-related events.  Feel free to come to all of them, or just drop in for half an hour.

Wednesday, Jan. 23rd: Play Quidditch (2-4pm on Kresge Oval), then come in and warm up while watching the second half to AVPS. If you didn't get to see the first act with us last week you can always catch up on youtube. We will also have chocolate frogs for sale.   Free pizza!

Sponsor(s): MIT Quidditch
Contact: Jessica Noss, quidditch-execs@mit.edu


A Very Potter Sequel with MIT Quidditch!

Chewy Shaw, Team Captain

Jan/16 Wed 04:00PM-07:00PM 8-119

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

Do you love Harry Potter?!  So do we!  The MIT Quidditch Team does more than just play Quidditch.  Join us every Wednesday this IAP for fun Harry-Potter-related events.  Feel free to come to all of them, or just drop in for half an hour.

Wednesday, Jan. 16th: Did you miss it last week?  We'll be playing Quidditch (2-4pm on Kresge Oval), then watching A Very Potter SEQUEL!!  Seriously, if you haven't seen AVPM, you need to see it.  It's also fine to watch the sequel without having seen the original.  Also, pizza and Chocolate Frogs!

Sponsor(s): MIT Quidditch
Contact: Jessica Noss, quidditch-execs@mit.edu


Alchemists and Mad Scientists: from Faust to Dr. Strangelove

Stephen Brophy, Lecturer, Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions

Curiosity is perhaps the defining characteristic of scientists in the popular mind, but a popular belief asserts that "curiosity killed the cat." In the popular imagination scientists challenge the boundaries of human knowledge, frequently paying a dire price for their audacity, and sometimes bringing that price down on the population around them. In this activity we will consider how science and scientists have been depicted in popular culture, starting with one manifestation of the widely celebrated Faust legend. We will trace the development in mass media of the evolution of alchemists into mad scientists, using the films "Faust," "Metropolis," "The Bride of Frankenstein," and "Dr. Strangelove" as our texts. Our goal will be a deeper understanding of the history of representations of science and scientists in Western narrative media.

Advance sign-up isn't required, but please email Stephen Brophy (stephbr@mit.edu) if you plan to attend so he can give you access to the activity's Stellar site.

Sponsor(s): Science, Technology, and Society, Comparative Media Studies
Contact: Stephen Brophy, stephbr@mit.edu


Faust

Jan/10 Thu 07:00PM-10:00PM 3-133

What do you do when you have it all and it isn't enough? Faust was the most highly respected philosopher, theologian, and physician of his time, but because he wasn't satisfied with all that he sold his soul to the Devil. And then what happened?

Stephen Brophy - Lecturer, Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies


Metropolis

Jan/17 Thu 07:00PM-10:00PM 3-133

Back in the good old days, when you built a city that had sunshine and sport for the 1%, but endless drudgery for the 99% who kept it going, you needed a mad scientist to run it all. And no scientist has ever been madder than Rotwang, the genius behind Metropolis!

Nicole Labruto - PhD Student in History, Anthropology, and STS (HASTS), Stephen Brophy - Lecturer, Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies


The Bride of Frankenstein

Jan/24 Thu 07:00PM-10:00PM 3-133

What happens when you build a creature with parts collected from graveyards and gallows, but neglect to provide him with a companion? He becomes monstrous in his loneliness. But maybe building a companion from the same materials isn't the best solution¿

Stephen Brophy - Lecturer, Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies, Marie Burks - PhD Student in History, Anthropology, and STS (HASTS)


Dr. Strangelove

Jan/31 Thu 07:00PM-10:00PM 3-133

Mad scientists don't only haunt medieval castles - they also ply their wares in the most up to date War Rooms. What happens when a modern mad scientist builds a Doomsday Machine for the Pentagon? See this movie to learn how to stop worrying and love the Bomb!

Stephen Brophy - Lecturer, Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies, Benjamin Wilson - PhD Student in History, Anthropology, and STS (HASTS)


Best of the 2012 European Short Film Festival at MIT

Kurt Fendt, Generoso Fierro

Jan/23 Wed 07:00PM-09:00PM 3-133

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

Watch a rarely seen selection of the best European short films from MIT's 2012 European Short Film Festival. These films give you a glimpse into contemporary short film productions from European film schools, young and established independent filmmakers, and European festivals. 15 films - many of them US premiers - that reflect the most compelling fiction, animation, documentary and experimental film from the 3-day festival in April 2012. A brief introduction will precede the screening.

Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies
Contact: Gabriella Horvath, ghorvath@mit.edu


Create a Web Series!

Sarah Coe

Enrollment: Unlimited: Advance sign-up required
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions

Are you interesting in storytelling or filmmaking? Are you a fan of creative web series such as Dr. Horrible, The Guild, or The Lizzie Bennet Diaries? Would you like to work with other energetic story-lovers? Then you’re invited to get in on the ground floor of developing an MIT-themed web series for debut in 2014! Comedy or drama, sci-fi or mystery, wacky or serious—your creative vision will help shape the show. Together, we’ll acheive our nefarious master plan: to create something so interesting, so entertaining, and so well-made that it will ensnare every procrastinator on campus!

From Jan 7th-13th, we'll be having our very first department meeting to lay the groundwork for the upcoming weeks. Feel free to stop by at meetings for the area(s) you are interested in! Also, if you are interested in helping out but not sure how yet, be sure to attend the General Meeting on Saturday the 12th, where we'll be coming together to share our progress and make plans.

Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies
Contact: Sarah Coe, coesa@mit.edu


Create a Web Series!

Jan/07 Mon 07:00PM-08:00PM 5-233, Editing/Special Effects
Jan/07 Mon 08:00PM-09:00PM 5-233, Publicity/Graphics
Jan/08 Tue 07:00PM-08:00PM 5-233, Directing
Jan/09 Wed 07:00PM-08:00PM 5-233, Acting
Jan/10 Thu 07:00PM-08:00PM 5-233, Screenwriting
Jan/11 Fri 07:00AM-08:00AM 5-233, Music/Sound
Jan/12 Sat 07:00PM-08:00PM 5-233, General Body Meeting
Jan/12 Sat 08:00PM-09:00PM 5-233, Filming/Shooting/Cinematography
Jan/13 Sun 07:00PM-08:00PM 5-233, Visual Prep (locations, costumes, props)

LBGTQ Dinner and Movie Nights

Abigail Francis, Director of LBGT Services

Enrollment: Limited: First come, first served (no advance sign-up)
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions
Prereq: none

Join in for dinner and an LBGTQ themed film, brought to you by GaMIT. Bring friends or come on your own, all are welcome! 

 

Contact: Abigail Francis, 50-005, 617-253-5440, afran@mit.edu


LBGTQ Dinner and Movie Night

Jan/08 Tue 07:00PM-09:00PM 50-005
Jan/15 Tue 07:00PM-09:00PM 50-005
Jan/22 Tue 07:00PM-09:00PM 50-005
Jan/29 Tue 07:00PM-09:00PM 50-005

 Join in for dinner and an LBGTQ themed film, brought to you by GaMIT. Bring friends or come on your own, all are welcome! 

 

Abigail Francis - Director of LBGT Services


(CANCELED) Les Miserables: Film and Dessert with MIT History Professors

Lerna Ekmekcioglu, Professor of History

Jan/24 Thu 07:00PM-10:00PM TBD Movie Theater, Please provide e-mail contact info

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/22
Limited to 15 participants

A night out at the movies to see the new release of Les Miserables followed by a discussion of the film over French desserts led by two History professors, Jeff Ravel and Lerna Ekmekcioglu.  Location of theater and specific time to be determined by theater availability.

Sponsor(s): History
Contact: Charles Munger, E51-255F, 617 324-5134, CMUNGER@MIT.EDU


Small Happinesses: Women in China's Transition

Christopher Leighton

Feb/01 Fri 05:30PM-07:30PM E51-095

Enrollment: Unlimited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/29
Prereq: None

China's recent economic and social transformations have drawn international interest, but what has it felt like to live them? We will consider the particular case of women, and follow their changing place in China over the last thirty years through ethnographic films. How have changing politics, economic growth, or evolvinging social norms affected their lives? Do urban and rural women share similar key concerns, or are their most important problems defined by something other than their sex--their class, for example? To what extent are the tensions and changes we see particular and "Chinese" and to what extent are they universal?

Participants will watch documentary film clips, share a meal of Chinese food, and discuss these questions. No prerequisites, all welcome.

Sponsor(s): History
Contact: Christopher Leighton, E51-288, 617 324-0541, cleight@MIT.EDU


Snow Quidditch!

Chewy Shaw, Team Captain; Keeper, Jessica Noss, Seeker, Delphine Kaiser, Beater, Antonio Moreno, Chaser

Jan/09 Wed 02:00PM-04:00PM Kresge Oval, Snape's Birthday!
Jan/13 Sun 02:00PM-04:00PM Kresge Oval
Jan/16 Wed 02:00PM-04:00PM Kresge Oval
Jan/20 Sun 02:00PM-04:00PM (CANCELED)
Jan/23 Wed 02:00PM-04:00PM Kresge Oval
Jan/27 Sun 02:00PM-04:00PM Kresge Oval
Jan/30 Wed 02:00PM-04:00PM Kresge Oval, Lily Potter's Birthday!

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Repeating event, particpants welcome at any session
Prereq: None whatsoever!

Have you ever wanted to play Quidditch, the magical sport from Harry Potter?  Better yet:  Come play Quidditch in the snow!  No experience necessary!

Sundays and Wednesdays 2-4pm, weather permitting*.  Feel free to choose a Sunday, or come to more than one!  There will be cookies, and if you're lucky, there might even be butterbeer...

Also, join us Wednesday evenings (after playing Quidditch!) for fun Harry Potter activities and free food!

*We will play as long as it is not raining or snowing too hard.  If there is no snow on the ground, it will just be regular Quidditch.

Sponsor(s): MIT Quidditch
Contact: Jessica Noss, quidditch-execs@mit.edu


The Complete Films of Corneliu Porumboiu

Generoso Fierro, Communications Director, MIT Game Lab

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions

One of the driving forces behind the Romanian New Wave, director Corneliu Porumboiu (b. 1975) is the focus of my "Complete Works" series for 2013 .  His first full-length feature film, 12:08 East of Bucharest, was awarded the Camera d'Or at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.  His second feature, Police, Adjective (Poliţist, Adjectiv) won the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard at the 2009 Cannes FIlm Festival.  On January 12th and 13th I will be showing both feature films and adding his earlier short films to the program before the features each night.  Please join us for a look at this unique director.

 

Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies
Contact: Generoso Fierro, 26-147, 617 253-5038, GENEROSO@MIT.EDU


12:08 East of Bucharest

Jan/12 Sat 07:00PM-10:00PM 6-120

The full English title refers to the setting of the film and the time of day at which Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceau¿escu fled after the revolution, 12:08 pm on December 22, 1989. The Romanian title roughly translates to "Was There or Wasn't There?", referring to the film's central issue: did Vaslui have any part in the 1989 revolution?  Screens w short "Gone With The Wine"
View The Trailer (w English Subtitles)

Generoso Fierro - Communications Director, MIT Game Lab


Police, Adjective

Jan/13 Sun 07:00PM-10:00PM 6-120

The movie focuses on policeman Cristi, who is investigating a teenage boy who has been smoking hashish. Over time, Cristi begins to question the ethical ramifications of his task. Director Porumboiu has great patience in allowing moments like these to draw your attention with quiet reflections, small gestures and very well placed words. Screens w shorts "A Trip To The City" and "Liviu's Dream"

Trailer (with English subs)

Generoso Fierro - Communications Director, MIT Game Lab


The Feynman Films

Andy Neely

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions
Prereq: None

A series of films by Richard Feynman and open to the MIT community.

Sponsor(s): Physics
Contact: Denise Wahkor, 4-315, 2534855, denisew@mit.edu


<i>The Law of Gravitation</i>

Jan/07 Mon 12:00PM-01:30PM 6-120

Andy Neely


<i>The Best Mind Since Einstein</i>

Jan/09 Wed 12:00PM-01:30PM 6-120

Andy Neely


The Relation of Mathematics to Physics

Jan/11 Fri 12:00PM-01:30PM 6-120

Andy Neely


The Great Conversation Principles

Jan/14 Mon 12:00PM-01:30PM 6-120

Andy Neely


<i>Symmetry in Physical Law</i>

Jan/16 Wed 12:00PM-01:30PM 6-120

Andy Neely


<i>The Last Journey of a Genius</i>

Jan/18 Fri 12:00PM-01:30PM 6-120

Andy Neely


Take the World from Another Point ofView

Jan/22 Tue 12:00PM-01:30PM 6-120

Andy Neely


The Distinction of Past and Future

Jan/23 Wed 12:00PM-01:30PM 6-120

Andy Neely


Probability and Uncertainty

Jan/25 Fri 12:00PM-01:30PM 6-120

Andy Neely


Urban Planning Film Series: Really Long Films

Ezra Glenn

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions

For IAP, the department's ongoing Urban Planning Film Series continues with a twist: since there are no classes, p-sets, or other distractions to contend with, this month the series will feature some of the great LONG (or even SUPER-LONG) films in the genre.

 

Sponsor(s): Urban Studies and Planning
Contact: Ezra Glenn, 7-337, 617 253-2024, EGLENN@MIT.EDU


When the Levees Broke, by Spike Lee

Jan/17 Thu 02:00PM-06:00PM 3-133, end times vary

Subtitled "A Requiem in Four Acts," Spike Lee's heart-rending portrait of New Orleans in the wake of the destruction manages to be both intimate and epic.  Originally aired as a four-part HBO miniseries, the film tells the heartbreaking personal stories of those who endured this harrowing ordeal--yet, somehow, amidst the ruins, the people of New Orleans are finding new hope and strength as the city rises from the ashes.

Ezra Glenn


Half the Sky, by Maro Chermayeff

Jan/24 Thu 02:00PM-06:00PM 3-133

Originally aired as a four-hour television series for PBS, this epic work introduces women and girls who are living under some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable---and fighting bravely to change them.  Traveling with intrepid reporter Nicholas Kristof and A-list celebrity advocates, the film reflects viable and sustainable options for empowerment and offers an actionable blueprint for transformation.

Ezra Glenn


Public Housing, by Fred Wiseman

Jan/31 Thu 02:00PM-06:00PM 3-133

This cinema-verite documentary captures daily life at the Ida B. Wells public housing development in Chicago. The film illustrates some of the experiences of people living in conditions of extreme poverty, including the work of the tenants council, street life, the role of police, job training, drug education, teenage mothers, dysfunctional families, elderly residents, nursery school, and after school teenage programs.

Ezra Glenn