Over five years in the making and ready for pre-orders It was the summer of 2018 when I approached Dana Claxton, after a keen suggestion from our mutual acquaintance Heather Igloliorte, to edit a book together. I was a huge fan of Dana’s art, so it was with much excitement and
Continue readingAuthor: Ezra Winton
ezra winton: New Book: Indigenous Media Arts in Canada – Order your copy!
Over five years in the making and ready for pre-orders It was the summer of 2018 when I approached Dana Claxton, after a keen suggestion from our mutual acquaintance Heather Igloliorte, to edit a book together. I was a huge fan of Dana’s art, so it was with much excitement and
Continue readingezra winton: What is Screen Ethics?
An excerpt from my forthcoming book, Buying In to Doing Good: Documentary Politics and Curatorial Ethics at the Hot Docs Film Festival (tentative title), to be published by McGill-Queen’s University Press When considering the liberal festival experience, agnostic curation sidesteps what I call screen ethics, an approach to media or
Continue readingezra winton: What is Screen Ethics?
Below is an excerpt from my manuscript Buying In to Doing Good: Documentary Politics and Curatorial Ethics at the Hot Docs Film Festival , to be published by McGill-Queen’s University Press in 2020. When considering the liberal festival experience, agnostic curation sidesteps what I call screen ethics, an approach to
Continue readingezra winton: Radical Media Advert: A Values Dissonance
Radical Media is an advertising, marketing and production company known for, among other things, trademarking the term “radical media,” as well as threatening activists, artists and academics with lawsuits if they dare to use the term for public events. The only thing “radical” about the company is its departure from
Continue readingezra winton: Radical Media Advert: A Values Dissonance
Radical Media is an advertising, marketing and production company known for, among other things, trademarking the term “radical media,” as well as threatening activists, artists and academics with lawsuits if they dare to use the term for public events. The only thing “radical” about the company is its departure from
Continue readingezra winton: Fall Speaking Engagements
I’m fortunate enough to have been invited to speak about my current research and other projects at a few institutions in Quebec and Ontario this Fall (2018). It’s always so rewarding to visit communities and engage in discussions with people who are invested in the same topics and issues one
Continue readingezra winton: Fall Speaking Engagements
I’m fortunate enough to have been invited to speak about my current research and other projects at a few institutions in Quebec and Ontario this Fall (2018). It’s always so rewarding to visit communities and engage in discussions with people who are invested in the same topics and issues one
Continue readingezra winton: The Launch of Documentary Futurism
On September 13th, 2018, the world will receive 15 speculative gifts. On that forward-looking day Cinema Politica launches our newest project in Montreal, Documentary Futurism. Way back in 2016 we pitched a wild idea to the Canada Council for the Arts for their New Chapter initiative (meant to mark the
Continue readingezra winton: The Launch of Documentary Futurism
On September 13th, 2018, the world will receive 15 speculative gifts. On that forward-looking day Cinema Politica launches our newest project in Montreal, Documentary Futurism. Way back in 2016 we pitched a wild idea to the Canada Council for the Arts for their New Chapter initiative (meant to mark the
Continue readingezra winton: Call for Chapters: Book on Indigenous representation in Canada’s Media Arts
Image above: Dana Claxton’s The Mustang Suite, image courtesy: http://alternatorcentre.com/explore_art/archives/exhibition/exhibitions_2008/edges_of_diversity/dana_claxton_the_mustang_suite/ CALL FOR CHAPTER PROPOSALS Insiders/Outsiders: The Cultural Politics and Ethics of Indigenous Representation and Participation in Canada’s Media Arts Edited by Ezra Winton and Dana Claxton Abstracts due: May 31st, 2017 Submissions sent to: insidersoutsidersbook AT gmail DOT com While
Continue readingArt Threat: How Do you Spell Colonialism? A Review of Hot Docs’s 2017 Opening Film Bee Nation
The article below also appears at POV Magazine, which is providing comprehensive coverage of the Hot Docs festival, including an alternative take on the film reviewed below (by Judy Wolf). The notion that an Indigenous spelling bee competition could serve as the cohesive force to unite disparate First Nations children
Continue readingezra winton: Links for 2017-02-22 [del.icio.us]
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Continue readingezra winton: Against empathy?
This short animation from The Atlantic highlights some of Professor Paul Bloom’s thoughts on why empathy—at least a kind of status quo mainstream empathy—isn’t really a good thing at all. The short should really be called “Against warm glow altruism,” as Bloom is focused on building off of Peter Singer’s concept of effective altruism and this isn’t really an argument against empathy per se. The animation is a little rudimentary, but it still serves as a provocation to the burgeoning industry of liberal documentary and its attendant army of NGOs,…read more
Continue readingezra winton: Against empathy?
This short animation from The Atlantic highlights some of Professor Paul Bloom’s thoughts on why empathy—at least a kind of status quo mainstream empathy—isn’t really a good thing at all. The short should really be called “Against warm glow altruism,” as Bloom is focused on building off of Peter Singer’s
Continue readingezra winton: 20 Questions for Film Curators
This past winter I taught a graduate seminar course at Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema (Concordia University) entitled “Curatorial Labour and the Politics of Programming.” It was a fantastic and meaningful experience and I was fortunate enough to have 13 really great students, all of whom suffered along with me as I attempted to make sense of my overly-ambitious and brand new syllabus. A few weeks in me and the students came up with a list of questions that someone curating or programming film might want or ought to ask themselves….read more
Continue readingezra winton: 20 Questions for Film Curators
This past winter I taught a graduate seminar course at Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema (Concordia University) entitled “Curatorial Practices and the Politics of Programming.” It was a fantastic and meaningful experience and I was fortunate enough to have 13 engaged students, all of whom suffered along with me as I attempted
Continue readingezra winton: Links for 2016-04-29 [del.icio.us]
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Our #1 Best-Selling Drone–Meet the Dark Night of the Sky!
ezra winton: Fighting Fascism by way of Understanding the Fascists
One of the common criticisms of advocacy films like Bully that I’ve heard and share is that the filmmakers narrowly focus on victims without ever exploring those who perpetrate. These films help along the equivocal knee-jerk reaction to oppression when we have a two-dimensional villain to point to: kids today! But why do kids bully and what are their lives like? Answering, or at least interrogating, these questions would move us in a direction to better understand the complexities of bullying and would likely elicit a more nuanced, thoughtful reaction…read more
Continue readingezra winton: Fighting Fascism by way of Understanding the Fascists
One of the common criticisms of advocacy films like Bully that I’ve heard and share is that the filmmakers narrowly focus on victims without ever exploring those who perpetrate. These films help along the equivocal knee-jerk reaction to oppression when we have a two-dimensional villain to point to: kids today!
Continue reading