UMassterclass

Welcome to UMassterclass, the official, award-winning podcast of the Film Studies program at UMass Amherst!

Get a taste of what the show is like, meet every member of the team, and learn more about the origins of UMassterclass! 

Hosted/edited/produced by Emily Ko | Theme Music by Corey Shaya | Podcast art by Jacky Celestino

In this podcast extra, host Emily Ko interviews Nefeli Forni, coordinator of the 80 Years of Xanadu: Legacies of Citizen Kane conference that is taking place on December 3. Nefeli invites faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students from UMass Amherst and the Five Colleges to submit their academic paper, creative project, or video essay on Citizen Kane. She also talks about coordinating this conference, the kinds of work that she would like to see, and her personal connection to Citizen Kane!

The deadline for abstracts is Friday, October 29. 

For more information (and the link to the abstracts submission form), go to: https://www.umass.edu/film/citizenkane80event 

If you have any questions about the conference, please email [email protected] 

Hosted/edited/produced by Emily Ko | Theme Music by Corey Shaya | Podcast art by Jacky Celestino

Last episode of the summer! In this guest episode, host Ben Sepinuck gives an overview of the Best Picture nominees of the 2021 Academy Awards. He talks about films like Judas and the Black Messiah, Minari, Nomadland, and more! This amazing episode also won Best in Competition at the 2020-2021 Michael S. Roif Awards!

Please check out: www.explaintheasterisk.org/

Music in Ben's episode: Tumblin Down (cdk Mix) by Analog By Nature (c) copyright 2012 Licensed under a Creative Commons Noncommercial Sampling Plus license. dig.ccmixter.org/files/cdk/35847 Ft: Kirkoid

Featured episode hosted/edited/produced by Ben Sepinuck | Introduced by Jacky Celestino and Emily Ko | Edited by Emily Ko | Theme Music by Corey Shaya | Podcast art by Jacky Celestino

In this special episode, host Emily Ko talks about The Shape of Water (dir. Guillermo Del Toro). This episode is part of Emily's Made Me Cry podcast where she talks about films that made her and many other people cry. She discusses the 2018 Oscars, how The Shape of Water moves audiences through its filmmaking, and some of the criticism that this film received. 

Aisha Harris's article on The Shape of Water winning Best Picture at the 2018 Oscars: https://slate.com/culture/2018/03/the-shape-of-waters-best-picture-win-is-middle-of-the-road.html

Guillermo Del Toro's quote "It’s a movie that tells you that the racism, classism, sexual mores, everything that was alive in ‘62, is all alive now" from: https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/film/guillermo-del-toro-on-the-deeper-meaning-in-the-shape-of-water-1.699621 

Alexandre Desplat's quote from: https://deadline.com/2017/12/the-shape-of-water-alexandre-desplat-oscars-interview-1202220056/

Featured episode hosted/edited/produced by Emily Ko | Introduced by Jacky Celestino and Emily Ko | Edited by Emily Ko | Theme Music by Corey Shaya | Podcast art by Jacky Celestino

In this episode, hosts Jacky Celestino and Emily Ko talk with undergraduate teaching assistants from different film classes. They discuss the TAing experience, the content of the courses, and much more!

These interviews were recorded during the Spring 2021 semester. Due to the virtual nature of these interviews, there are some variations in audio quality. Thank you for your patience!

Hosted by Jacky Celestino and Emily Ko | Edited by Joseph Torres and Emily Ko | Theme Music by Corey Shaya | Podcast art by Jacky Celestino

First guest episode ever! Today, UMassterclass is featuring Hannah Chan's episode on Minari (dir. Lee Isaac Chung) and Burning (dir. Lee Chang-Dong) from her podcast, Asian Film Express. She talks about the Golden Globes, Asian representation, Steven Yeun, and more!

Stop AAPI Hate: https://stopaapihate.org

Anti-Asian Violence Resources: https://anti-asianviolenceresources.carrd.co

Featured episode hosted/edited/produced by Hannah Chan | Introduced by Jacky Celestino and Emily Ko | Edited by Emily Ko | Theme Music by Corey Shaya | Podcast art by Jacky Celestino

In this first full episode of season 2, hosts Emily Ko and Jacky Celestino discuss One Night in Miami (dir. Regina King) and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (dir. George C. Wolfe). Their analysis looks at how the films’ technical elements underscore the confines of racial disparities that the characters face. They compare Sam Cooke and Malcom X’s relationship with that of Ma Rainey and Levee’s to further explore intersecting themes of liberation, activism, and art.

Hosted by Emily Ko and Jacky Celestino | Edited by Emily Ko | Theme Music by Corey Shaya | Podcast art by Jacky Celestino

This bonus episode features three mini episodes created by students from Professor Olga Gershenson’s Fall 2020 Jewish Humor course. Some students discuss The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, focusing on the Catskills and Lenny Bruce’s influence on comedy. Other students talk about the portrayal of Schmidt’s mother in New Girl. Hosts Jacky Celestino and Emily Ko talk with Professor Gershenson to learn more about the assignment.

Background music in the New Girl episode is “Bossa Antigua” by Kevin MacLeod. Link to song: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3454-bossa-antigua Link to license: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/standard-license

Hosted by Jacky Celestino and Emily Ko | Edited by Emily Ko and Joseph Torres | Podcast art by Jacky Celestino

Happy first day of the Massachusetts Multicultural Film Festival! In this podcast extra, hosts Emily Ko and Jacky Celestino speak with the festival’s Assistant Curator, Nefeli Forni, about this year's theme "Alliances" and the process of putting together a virtual festival.

For more information and tickets, visit umass.edu/film/mmff

Hosted by Emily Ko and Jacky Celestino | Edited by Emily Ko | Podcast theme by Corey Shaya | Podcast art by Jacky Celestino

On this final installment of Black Perspectives, Eleanor Rose and guest host Estrella Soto have a conversation with a panel of UMass alumni about intersectionality, how visual media affects the current state of the country and how to create effective change when activists are demonized for standing against violence towards black and brown bodies. Produced/Edited/Hosted by Estrella Soto and Eleanor Rose | Podcast theme by Corey Shaya | Podcast art by Sam Huntley

*Note: this episode was recorded in the summer of 2020 in response to the rise of BLM protests prior to the first two episodes in the series