25 September 2013

'The Art of Film Adaptation' - Dundee Arts Cafe on Tuesday, 1st October

The key to successfully adapting much loved and critically acclaimed novels and plays for the silver screen will be examined at the next Dundee Arts Cafe.

Dr Brian Hoyle, a lecturer on the English programme at the University of Dundee, will discuss 'The Art of Film Adaptatio' at The McManus: Dundee's Art Gallery and Museum on Tuesday, 1st October.

Dr Hoyle co-designed the Film Studies programme and received the University's 'Most Inspirational Teaching of Undergraduates' award earlier this year. At the Arts Cafe event he will discuss the ways in which films are created and compare the work of two Oscar-winning directors, David Lean and Fred Zinnemann, who frequently adapted novels and plays for film.

'Despite the popular success of and industry accolades heaped on films such as Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, and Doctor Zhivago, and Zinnemann's From Here to Eternity and A Man for All Seasons, which won no less than 33 Oscars between them, their work has often been unfashionable with critics,' Dr Hoyle said.

'Their preference for epic canvases, their close collaboration with writers, and their reliance on well-regarded novels and plays for material have led to damning accusations of being meticulous craftsmen at best, or, at worst, being guilty of anonymous direction and producing films that contain less than meets the eye.'

'I hope that my talk will demonstrate that there is a good deal more than meets the eye in the films of David Lean and Fred Zinnemann. I will argue, though a close reading of several notable literary adaptations, that the meticulous craftsmanship of these two filmmakers hides remarkably expressive direction, and that they have always brought a keen cinematic imagination to bear on their literary sources.'

Dundee Arts Cafe is a programme of talks showcasing arts research and developments taking place locally. The series is organised by the Universities of Dundee and Abertay, and Dundee City Council's Leisure & Culture department.

Dundee Arts Cafe events enable members of the public to relax and discuss the arts, from English to History, Philosophy to Architecture, and Fine Art to Product Design, with some of the leading names carrying out work in these areas in Dundee.

The events last one hour, and speakers talk passionately about their work for 30 minutes before the floor is opened up to an informal discussion with the audience. All talks take place in The McManus Cafe, Albert Square, Dundee.

'The Art of Film Adaptation' takes place at 6pm on Tuesday, 1st October. The event is free, and open to all. Limited seating means visitors are advised to arrive early to avoid disappointment.

For more information about the event and Dundee Arts Cafe please visit www.DundeeArtsCafe.co.uk

For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
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