Orson Welles symposium kicks off Wednesday
Cinephiles and scholars will convene on campus this week to celebrate the 100th birthday of prolific filmmaker Orson Welles with a five-day film symposium April 29 through May 3. The series of screenings and presentations are open to the public.
Among the offerings are screenings of Welles’ popular and lesser-known works, presentations from noted researchers of Welles’ life and times, and panel discussions on Welles’ place in film history of the first half of the 20th century. Orson Welles: A Centennial Celebration and Symposium, is sponsored by the IU Cinema, The Media School and IU Libraries.
Orson Welles was a director, actor, writer and producer who worked in the multimedia of his time: radio, film and theater. Best known for his radio drama, War of the Worlds, and feature film Citizen Kane, Welles also influenced generations of filmmakers.
Indiana University is a natural location for the symposium, said IU Cinema director Jon Vickers, as it houses one of the largest collections of works related to Orson Welles. The Lilly Library has more than 20,000 items in its collection related to Welles’ career and life. IU also is home to Welles scholars such as Professor Emeritus James Naremore, who will give the keynote address at the symposium, among several others.
Vickers and Lilly Library archivist Craig Simpson began organizing the symposium earlier this year.
“This will be the classiest, perhaps most important Welles gathering in the U.S.,” Vickers said.
See the full list of events at the IU Cinema website.
Symposium highlights
Exhibits:
The Lilly Library exhibit, “100 Years of Orson Welles: Master of Stage, Sound and Screen,” opened Jan. 20 and features 150 pieces of Orson Welles memorabilia. These items were drawn from a dozen different collections housed at the Lilly Library, including a 1978 purchase from one of Welles’ business partners and the Orson Welles manuscripts and the papers of director Peter Bogdanovich, whose extensive interviews formed the book This Is Orson Welles.
- 2-3 p.m. April 29: Take a guided tour with archivist Craig Simpson
- 4:30 p.m. April 30: Reception at the Lilly Library
Screenings:
Attendance is $3 per film. Pick up tickets at IU Auditorium during business hours.
- 7 p.m. April 29: The Magnificent Ambersons, with introduction by Professor Emeritus James Naremore
- 2 p.m. April 30: Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles
- 7 p.m. April 30: Double feature: F is for Fake and The Immortal Story
- 3 p.m. May 1: Too Much Johnson, with commentary by Brian Graney, Black Film Center/Archive
- 3 p.m. May 2: Wellesiana: Unreleased/Rare Welles Footage
- 7 p.m. May 2: Touch of Evil
- 9:30 p.m. May 2: Fountain of Youth and The Trial, with introduction by Professor Emeritus James Naremore
- 3 p.m. May 3: MacBeth, with introduction by professor Barbara Klinger
- 6:30 p.m. May 3: Confidential Report/Mr. Arkadin
Presentations:
Several Media School faculty will participate in panel discussions and other presentations at IU Cinema. These include:
- 8 a.m. April 30, “Welles and Technology,” panel discussion moderated by associate professor Stephanie DeBoer.
- 10:30 a.m. April 30, “Welles and Radio: War of the Worlds and Orson Welles’ Radio Legacy,” panel discussion moderated by professor Greg Waller.
- 12:45 p.m. April 30, “Orson Welles at 100,” keynote address by Professor Emeritus James Naremore with introduction by IU President Michael McRobbie.
- 8:30 a.m. May 1, “Investigations in the Archive II,” panel discussion moderated by Professor Emeritus James Naremore.
- 10:30 a.m. May 1, “Welles’s Public Contexts,” panel discussion moderated by associate professor Joan Hawkins. Doctoral student James Gilmore will present “Deep Focus: The Welles Correspondences and the Struggle Against Postwar Anti-Semitism.”
- 10:30 a.m. May 1, “Welles: New Approaches” a panel discussion featuring “The Fine Art of Invention: Orson Welles’ Remembrance of History in Ceiling Unlimited and Hello Americans” by doctoral student Joshua Vasquez.
- 5 p.m. May 1, reception/dinner (not open to the public) with introduction by Media School Dean James Shanahan.