Janisse herself will be conducting the first lecture on Wednesday January 8th, "School of Shock: Pain and Pleasure in the Classroom Safety Film". As the lecture webpage states, "for many kids was their first time seeing other children threatened by true danger, being confronted with a combination of gore effects and actual accident footage, and being offered a pictorial glimpse at things their parents didn't want to talk about." I've seen the film from which the photo above (taken from the Miskatonic page), "The Fur Coat Club", and I can tell you it is indeed shocking that it was ever made, let alone shown (two little girls with guns? Really?), and it will be fascinating to hear what other treasures Janisse has in store, with what should be some interesting analysis and perspective.
Full details of the courses, instructors, location and prices are in the press release below. I hope to see some of you there!
The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies is pleased to announce the opening of its London branch on January 8th, which will be based at the heart of the city's underground culture, the Horse Hospital.
In its pilot semester, running from January to June 2015, the Miskatonic Institute will offer monthly lectures exploring the more obscure corners of horror and fantastical cinema, which will be taught by established writers, directors, scholars and programmers. It aims to be a nurturing environment for horror fans and scholars that will inspire intellectual curiosity and critical debate in a friendly atmosphere, as well as build a community around shared enthusiasm for the genre.
Among
the topics to be discussed are Jesus Franco, landscapes in horror,
classroom safety films and sado-masochism. Instructors include prominent
horror expert Kim Newman, author of Nightmare Movies and Cat People; horror and exploitation writer Stephen Thrower, author of Nightmare USA and Murderous Passions: The Delirious Cinema of Jesus Franco; Kier-La Janisse, author of House of Psychotic Women and founder of Spectacular Optical Publications; Mark Pilkington, author of Mirage Men and director of Strange Attractor Press; Jasper Sharp, author of Behind the Pink Curtain and director of the documentary The Creeping Garden; Virginie Sélavy, founder of Electric Sheep and editor of The End: An Electric Sheep Anthology.
These classes will introduce participants to less well-known aspects of the horror and fantastical realm and equip them with a more sophisticated critical apparatus as well as provide historical perspective. It will explore how this vital area of cinema delves into the sources of our fears and desires, and dramatizes the most unsettling aspects of our relationship to the natural and social world, as well as to others. It will also examine how the genre has created some of the most wildly inventive sonic and visual forms in cinema.
Named for the fictional university in H.P. Lovecraft's literary mythos, The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies is
a non-profit, community-based organization that started in Montreal,
Canada. Founded by Kier-La Janisse in March of 2010, Miskatonic Montreal
now operates under the leadership of co-directors Mario
DeGiglio-Bellemare and Kristopher Woofter. Miskatonic London will
operate under the co-direction of Kier-La Janisse and Virginie Sélavy.
Info:
The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies - London
www.miskatonic-london.com
Second Thursday of the month
Dates: 8 January, 12 February, 12 March, 9 April, 14 May, 11 June
Time: 7-10pm (film + lecture)
Venue: Horse Hospital
Address: Colonnade, Bloomsbury, London WC1N 1JD
Prices: £10 advance / £11 on the door / £8 concs / £55 full season registration
For
interviews with Miskatonic founder Kier-La Janisse, London director
Virginie Sélavy, or any of Miskatonic London's faculty, please contact
us at this address, or at miskatonic.london@gmail.com