Mail Code PF
Abraham Ravett
Jerome Liebling Center 107
413.559.5492
On sabbatical fall 2024.
Abraham Ravett holds a B.F.A and M.F.A in filmmaking and photography and has been an independent filmmaker for the past thirty-five years. He was born in Poland and raised in Israel and the U.S.A.
Ravett has received grants for his work from the Massachusetts Cultural Council; National Foundation for Jewish Culture: Fund for Documentary Filmmaking; National Endowment for the Arts; The Massachusetts Council on the Arts and Humanities; The Japan Foundation; The LEF Foundation; The Marion and Jasper Whiting Foundation; and a 1994 filmmaking fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.
His films have been screened internationally, including at several one-person shows at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. His work has won “Top Prize” at the Viennale 2000, Ann Arbor Film Festival, and Onion City Film/Video Festival. In 1999, he collaborated with dancer/choreographer Bill T. Jones on his solo performance "The Breathing Show." A retrospective of Ravett's films was shown at the 2014 Festival Film Dokumenter Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
"Certain people start with a documentary and arrive at fiction...others start with fiction and arrive at the documentary."-Jean Luc Godard This is an introductory course for students who would like to explore their interest in documentary practice. Through a combination of screenings, lectures, readings and technical workshops, we will explore a critical/historical overview of this genre and incorporate our knowledge and experience to produce individual or collaborative projects in a variety of "modes of representation". Projects need not be restricted to a particular medium; in fact, students will be encouraged to explore the ways in which 16mm or Super 8 film, video, photography and/or animation can be utilized together. Meeting times are 3 hours per week plus an evening screening. There is a lab fee for this course. Keywords:Documentary, non-fiction
This course teaches the basic skills of 16mm film production, including camera work, editing, animation, optical printing and preparation for a finished work in film and video. Students will submit weekly written responses to theoretical and historical readings and to screenings of films and DVDs that represent a variety of aesthetic approaches to the moving image. There will be a series of filmmaking assignments culminating in a final project. The bulk of the work will be produced in 16mm format including animation, optical printing, plus a variety of ways to self-process film or create cameraless moving images. Digital image processing and non-linear editing will also be supported. KEYWORDS:16mm filmmaking
This is an introductory course for students who would like to explore their interest in documentary practice. Through a combination of screenings, lectures, readings and technical workshops, we will explore a critical/historical overview of this genre and incorporate our knowledge and experience to produce individual or collaborative projects in a variety of "modes of representation." Projects need not be restricted to a particular medium; in fact, students will be encouraged to explore the ways in which film, video, photography and/or animation can be utilized together. The emphasis in our screenings will be geared towards films that profile musicians, composers, and the music-making experience. Keywords:Filmmaking, documentary, music, NON-FICTION
