Letters to Cinema

Manuel Alejandro Salas

5.0 (1)
TV & Film

Podcast by Manuel Alejandro Salas

04/15/2018

Episode 7: Expressing Traumas on Film

Episode 7: Expressing Traumas on Film by Manuel Alejandro Salas

7 min
03/02/2018

Episode 6: The Death of the Auteur

This week, I talk about the auteur theory and expand on the argument suggested by Graham Petrie in his article “Alternatives to Auteurs” where he wrestles with how can we attribute credit where it belongs? Or how can we know we are giving credit to the person that is responsible for the visual style of the film? In other words, why do we give all the credit to the director when many professionals from different departments make a motion picture?

8 min
02/24/2018

Episode 5: Privileged Moments

This week, I approach my analysis differently to what I usually do by looking at a film through a cinephiliac moment or privileged moment. Paul Willemen states that a cinephiliac moment “has something to do with what you perceive to be the privileged, pleasure-giving, fascinating moment of a relationship to what’s happening on the screen.” In this episode, to explain this concept in film analysis, I look at Nicholas Ray’s "Johnny Guitar" (1954) and share a dramatic personal experience from my own life.

10 min
02/17/2018

Episode 4: Hypnosis in Cinema

This week, I touch on an ongoing argument: the difference between watching films in motion picture theaters vs. on a digital home device. My idea on this topic is that motion picture theaters provide a hypnotizing effect that you can’t get anywhere else. The definition of hypnosis says that it is a trance state where someone can be manipulated both physically and emotionally. This is used to control how we feel in theaters by utilizing images and sounds as, metaphorically, the pocket watch that hypnotizes us.

11 min
02/09/2018

Episode 3: Films for Cinephiles

A cinephile is someone who is passionate about the art of filmmaking leading him or her to accumulate a lot of knowledge in film theory and film criticism over the years. After 1990, film directors have been known for referencing other films and historical film styles within their narrative structure. These references influence and complicates both the film’s narrative and interpretations challenging regular audiences to follow and understand their meaning. It can be said, then, that these films are made explicitly for cinephiles because they require some background knowledge for them to be appreciated in their entirety. In this episode, then, I take a close look at Wong Kar-wai’s "Fallen Angels" (1995) and Olivier Assayas’ "Irma Vep" from 1996. (The song at the end of the episode is by Serge Gainsbourg & Brigitte Bardot - Bonnie And Clyde)

13 min
02/01/2018

Episode 2: First Features

In this episode, I look at the debut features of Robert Rodriguez, Damien Chazelle, Guillermo del Toro, and Christopher Nolan. I was curious to know the journeys of some film directors and how they started in an attempt to find out the first steps that aspiring filmmakers should take at the beginning of their careers. The result is an episode filled with inspiring words and powerful insights.

13 min
01/24/2018

Episode 1: Ecuadorian First Wave

The film movement emerged on February 3rd of 2006 when the National Congress approved the first Ecuadorian Cinema Law and, as a result, an institution called the CNCine was established to fortify the audiovisual industry of the country. This organization began supporting upcoming directors, the ones who will in due time create the Ecuadorian First Wave.

21 min

7 Episodes

Podcast by Manuel Alejandro Salas

Creator

Manuel Alejandro Salas
Years Active

2K
Episodes

7
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© All rights reserved
Show Website

Letters to Cinema