Anthony Cristiano is an Italian-born Canadian film director, educator, and writer.

As a film director, Cristiano's style is chiefly characterized by a poetic tone via the use of raw film texture, counterpointed use of music, and psychologically meandering situations and characters. This style is manifested in his DVD titled "A Self-Conscious Mise-en-scene", which is released in 2008 and consists of 10 short films he made between the years 1998–2008.[1][2] The DVD collection was later presented and screened by Cristiano in a special lecture at the Frank Iacobucci Centre in University of Toronto.[3]

Cristiano is also a film scholar.[4][5][6][7] For several years, he has been a workshop instructor at various film co-operatives across Canada. In 2006, Cristiano gave a lecture and led workshops on experimental films for Atlantic Filmmakers Cooperative (AFCOOP) at the National Film Board of Canada in Halifax.[8][9] In 2007, he instructed the first session of a Masterclass Workshop Series led by Island Media Arts Cooperative in Prince Edward Island.[10] In 2010, he was a workshop instructor for the Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT).[11] From the springs of 2013 to 2015, Cristiano has hosted an Italian Film Series of public screening as part of the Culture, Arts, and Entertainment programs of the Toronto Reference Library.[12][13][14][15][16] On 27 March 2014 Cristiano gave a public lecture titled "The Incidence of Screens: an Extension of Human Abilities or a Historic Distraction?" as part of the Laurier Milton Lecture Series V at the Milton Public Library, in which he discussed the relevance of McLuhan laws of media and axioms and argued that there is evidence of harm, especially among young users, caused by the addiction to personal devices.[17][18][19] Cristiano also gave a public talk on Canadian practices, "Digital Technologies & Surveillance Practices: Do they protect or harm us?" at the Brantford Public Library on May 13, 2015.[20] On May 26, 2015, Cristiano also gave a talk on the dangers associated with digitization and new media trends given to Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń (Toruń, Poland) students.[21]

Short films edit

Cristiano's flair as a writer and poet[22][23] is translated into his short films to capture the bewilderment of everyday life. For example, his short films Il mio umore (2000)[24] and Intervalli chiaroscuri (2002)[25][26] are based on his homonymous poems. In Infinitely Near (1999), which appeared at the 30th Student Film & Video Festival of Montreal World Film Festival,[27] Cristiano explores the issues of everyday life and human relationship through the mathematical concept of limit.[28][29] The character of the mathematics professor in Infinitely Near was played by Patrick O'Donnell,[30] a physics professor at University of Toronto,[28] who also appeared in Gus Van Sant's Good Will Hunting.[31] Cristiano also uses short film to express his scholarly ideas. Screened in New York, his A Matter of Style discusses cinematic theory as the dialogue between two different styles of chair.[32] A Self-Conscious Mise-en-scene(2006) is based on Cristiano's short story "The Millenary Man".[33] In his scholarly article about this short film, titled "A Self-Conscious Mise-en-scène: Experimenting with 'Disownment and Appropriation'", Cristiano explains his experimental work as a way to solve a communicative crisis.[34] On May 28, 2015, "A Minute Life (1-20)" film screened at Collegium Maius, Toruǹ (Poland).[35]

Filmography edit

Short films edit

  • Voiceless Lilies (1998)
  • Infinitely Near (1999)
  • Il mio umore (2000)
  • Sera di settembre (2001)
  • Intervalli chiaroscuri (2002)
  • Displaced Love (2003)
  • La risata (2005)
  • A Matter of Style (2005)
  • A Self-Conscious Mise-en-scene (2006)
  • 316 Albany Avenue (2008)
  • A Minute Life (2014)

Feature film edit

  • The Wave Canadiana Blue (2011)

Bibliography edit

In 2010 he authored Dante Alighieri's Inferno Metaphor: The Revised Interlinear Edition + 5 novi canti by Anthony Cristiano With Illustrations., and the book also contains 30 original illustrations by Cristiano.[36] As part of the book launch in Toronto, Cristiano gave a lecture titled "Modernism and Visuality in Dante's Inferno Journey".[37]
Cristiano's other writings include: The Adolescent (2000), The Graviton, The Millenary Man (2002), and "A Self-Conscious Mise-en-scene: Experimenting with Disownment and Appropriation" (2007),[38] Contemporary Italian Cinema: Images of Italy at the Turn of the Century (2008).[39][40]

Art edit

References edit

  1. ^ Arambulo, Max (13 April 2009). "Home Video-esque Film Gives Twin a Glimpse of Home". Ryerson Free Press. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  2. ^ Galletti, A. (8 March 2009). "Passion for Film—a Talk with Anthony Cristiano". Tandem, Canada's Cosmopolitan News, Arts, and Sports.
  3. ^ "Special Lecture: Lecture and screening by Anthony Cristiano presented by Frank Iacobucci Centre UofT". Google Calendar. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  4. ^ "Anthony Cristiano". Belphégor. 5 (1). December 2005. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  5. ^ Cristiano, Anthony (December 2012). "Silvio Soldini's Giorni e nuvole and Paolo Sorrentino's Il divo: The Differing Styles and Chief Directions of the New Italian Cinema?" (PDF). La Libellula. 4: 36. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 January 2014.
  6. ^ Cristiano, Anthony (2013). "The New Stakes for National Cinemas, a Word on the Case of Italy, and an Interview with Ivan Cotroneo" (PDF). California Italian Studies. 4 (2): 1–20. doi:10.5070/C342018021.
  7. ^ Cristiano, Anthony. "The Personal and Public Spheres in Habemus Papam (2011): A Cinematic "Prophecy" on the Future of the Church". Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  8. ^ "History of Experimental Films". Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  9. ^ "A History of Experimental Film". Destination Halifax. Archived from the original on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  10. ^ "IMAC Enews – January 31st". Archived from the original on 29 January 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  11. ^ "EDITING ON FILM". Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  12. ^ "Italian Film Series: Anche libero va bene (Libero)". Toronto Public Library. Archived from the original on 26 December 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  13. ^ "Italian Film Series: Our Life (La nostra vita)". Toronto Public Library. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  14. ^ Anderson, Jason (28 March 2014). "Cinefranco offers enticing francophone films". Toronto Star.
  15. ^ Anderson, Jason. "Cinefranco focuses on francophone films". Toronto Star. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
  16. ^ "Italian Film Series". Consulate General of Italy in Toronto. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
  17. ^ "Laurier Milton Lecture Series". Town of Milton. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  18. ^ "Laurier Milton Lecture Series V: 2013 / 2014". Milton Public Library. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  19. ^ Morrison, Stacey (February 2014). "Coming Events". InsideLAURIER. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
  20. ^ "Somebody's Watching You: Everyday Digital Tech and Surveillance Practices". Brantford Public Library. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  21. ^ Giżyńska, Elżbieta. "Wiara? Zastanówmy się jak z nią jest". spodkopca. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  22. ^ Cristiano, Anthony. "Recover Text Tool". Carte allineate: recensioni e testi. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  23. ^ Cristiano, Anthony. "DUE POESIE". Carte allineate: recensioni e testi. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  24. ^ "Il Mio Umore (2000)". BravoFACT. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  25. ^ "Intervalli chiaroscuri (2001)". BravoFACT. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  26. ^ Little, Jen (18 March 2002). "Missing the point". The Varsity. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  27. ^ Festival des Films du Monde Montréal Programme Officiel. August 1999. p.368.
  28. ^ a b Lan, Stephen (3 February 1999). "So close......yet, so far". The Independent Weekly.
  29. ^ Kasman, Alex. "Infinitely Near (1999)". Mathematical Fiction. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  30. ^ Polster, Burkard and Marty Ross (2012). Math goes to the movies. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 6. ISBN 9781421404844.
  31. ^ Adilman, Sid (26 December 1997). "From head of class to front of camera". Toronto Star.
  32. ^ "Departing Halifax Arriving New York". Tristan Media LLC. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  33. ^ "MEDIA TRAIN. [SHORT FILMS FROM NOVA SCOTIA]". The New Zealand Film Archive. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  34. ^ Cristiano, Anthony. "A Self-Conscious Mise-en-scène: Experimenting with 'Disownment and Appropriation'". Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  35. ^ "TYDZIEŃ REFLEKSJI NAD KULTURĄ DUCHOWĄ". Torun. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  36. ^ Verdicchio, M. (2011) Review of the book Dante Alighieri's Inferno Metaphor: The Revised Interlinear Edition + 5 novi canti With Illustrations, by A. Cristiano. Annali d'Italianistica, 29, 512–513.
  37. ^ "MODERNISM AND VISUALITY IN DANTE'S INFERNO JOURNEY The world's first interlinear translation of Dante Alighieri's Inferno". Italian Cultural Institute in Toronto. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  38. ^ Cristiano, A. (2007) A Self-Conscious Mise-en-scène: Experimenting with 'Disownment and Appropriation.' Quaderni d'Italianistica, 28 (1), 151–166.
  39. ^ Anthony Cristiano(book author), Paola Basile (review author). "Contemporary Italian Cinema: Images of Italy at the Turn of the Century". Quaderni d'Italianistica. Retrieved 10 April 2014. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  40. ^ Cristiano, Anthony. "Contemporary Italian Cinema: Images of Italy at the Turn of the Century". EBSCOhost Connection. Archived from the original on 12 February 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2014.

External links edit