The seminar’s overarching topic is the ‘Ancient Near East in cinema’ and the session will consist of two papers – by Dr. Jason Silverman and Dr. Martin Worthington – followed by a shared question round and discussion on the session specific theme. The topics of the talks are:
‘The Filmmaker’s Ancient Near East’ (Dr. Jason Silverman)
The early days of film were largely inspired by the Bible and the Classics, and depictions of the ANE were largely derived from the reception of those traditions. We will look at clips and images from some films and discuss some of the themes that recur: orientalism and colonialism, ongoing scholarly discovery, spectacle, and the Bible.
‘Planning a film of Dumuzi's Dream’ (Dr. Martin Worthington)
In 2019, Martin Worthington directed the world's first Babylonian-language film (The Poor Man of Nippur, freely available on Youtube), acted out by his students. In 2020 he was Babylonian and Sumerian Consultant to Marvel Studios for the blockbuster production "Eternals". He is now planning a Sumerian-language Youtube film, to be acted by students at Trinity College Dublin. His presentation will reflect on both the euphoria and the challenges (intellectual, artistic, linguistic, technical) of bringing the Ancient Near East to the screen.
All are welcome, so please join us in person or online!
Time: Thursday 15 December at 16:15-18:00 EET (UTC+2h).
Live venue: Faculty hall (Faculty of Theology, Fabianinkatu 24, 5th floor).
Virtual venue: Zoom (Meeting ID: 678 8979 2118 / link).
Wonder what else was on the menu? Check out the fall program here.