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08 January 2019 | Story Charlene Stanley | Photo Charlene Stanley
Film and Visual Media
Johanet Kriel-De Klerk, Chris Vorster, and Martin Rossouw in the auditorium at the Visual Hub, where a lot of time is spent watching and analysing films.

Three years ago, an oblong yellowish-green building arose between Pellies Park and the Beyers Naudé male residence, housing state-of-the art filming, editing, and viewing facilities, and sporting the promising name ‘Visual Hub’ on its exterior.  With this, an exciting interdisciplinary honours degree in Film and Visual Media was introduced.

While the interior and facilities still provide a brand-new impression, lecturers reflect that they’ve come a long way over this period, finding a delicate balance between practical and academic components. 

Not traditional “film school”

“This is not ‘film school’,” lecturer Chris Vorster explains. “Although we have an intensive practical component that sees our students producing a short film at the end of their training, our emphasis is on equipping students with a thorough academic knowledge of film history and analysis.”

Only 15 students can be accepted each year. Applicants should have a degree in the Humanities, scoring at least a 65% average in their final year.

Over the course of a year, students are given a viewing list of selected movies, illustrating different aspects of visual storytelling, film development and techniques, but which also relate to the societies that produced them in revealing ways.

Broadening students’ viewing experience

“Most people tend to get stuck in their favourite genre when it comes to watching movies. We considerably broaden students’ viewing experience,” says Vorster. “We give them as wide a base as possible. When they walk out of here, they can go on to specialise in anything from directing to writing film reviews.”

He usually advises students to see the year after completing their degree as a ‘practical year’, doing volunteer work in as many fields of film production as possible to see what they enjoy most, and then work hard to become a specialist in that field.

“The film industry is a tough world. You really need a great amount of talent and drive to make it.” 

LECTURERS’ FAVOURITE FILM GENRES:

Chris Vorster: DRAMA AND THEATRE ARTS

Science fiction crossed with psychological thrillers, and all that shouts, explodes, devours, hits, and disgusts.

Johanet Kriel-De Klerk: HISTORY OF ART AND IMAGE STUDIES

Indie (independent) films, as they strike a good balance between profound art and everyday entertainment.

Debeer Cloete: DRAMA AND THEATRE ARTS

Science fiction. A great favourite is Steven Spielberg’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence [2001]. Spielberg was asked by Stanley Kubrick’s widow to direct this film after Kubrick’s death in 1999. It stays true to Spielberg’s own aesthetic approach while incorporating Kubrick’s approach to cinematography and fragmented narratives.  

Martin Rossouw: HISTORY OF ART AND IMAGE STUDIES

So-called boring philosophical art films, such as those of Terrence Malick.

News Archive

Department Old Testament receives visiting professor from the USA
2009-05-19

 
Prof. Fanie Snyman (left) and Prof. Leder.


Prof. Arie Leder, professor in Old Testament at the Calvin Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, Michigan in the United States of America (USA) set foot on the African continent for the first time when he visited Prof. Fanie Snyman of the Department Old Testament in the Faculty of Theology at the University of the Free State (UFS). Prof. Leder is a visiting professor at the Department of Old Testament.

During his two-week-long visit to the faculty he amongst others lectured to undergraduate and master’s students. The lectures addressed issues related to the first five books of the Old Testament with the focus on the interpretation of the Hebrew text. The mentioned historical books of the Old Testament were discussed with the postgraduate students of the faculty. During the meeting of the Discussion Group for Biblical Sciences, Prof. Leder presented a public lecture with the theme, “Lady Wisdom and Sir Folly: Preaching Esther for such a time as this”.

According to Prof. Snyman, the agreement with Prof. Leder was to present the same lectures as what he would have delivered at the Calvin Theological Seminary. “The aim was to compare the standards, course content and presentations of the lectures that are presented by the respective departments, with each other. We compare well with the Calvin Theological Seminary and we do not have to be ashamed of ourselves. The feedback of the students about the exposure to another lecturer from another institution was also positive,” said Prof. Snyman.

The possibility of future collaboration was also discussed, specifically with the objective of both institutions publishing articles in the respective journals of both institutions. A further positive result of Prof. Leder’s visit is that colleagues of the Calvin Theological Seminary will be approached to act as external examiners for postgraduate students,” said Prof. Snyman.

The Calvin Theological Seminary libraries are some of the best equipped theological libraries in the world and as a result of the collaboration between our two institutions, staff of this faculty will get the opportunity to visit the Calvin Institution and to utilise the facility.

Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

 

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