Ithaca College

Patricia R. Zimmermann, professor of screen studies and codirector of the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival, lectured and facilitated a discussion on the current independent narrative film Bernie (Richard Linklater, 2012) for the Cinemark Theater corporation in Houston, Texas on August 2.

Designed for older adults and the general public, Zimmermann’s presentation situated the film as part of the “third coast” of film and new media emerging in Texas through tax incentives and the efforts of the state film commission. She also analyzed how the film reflects regional independent film, with an emphasis on landscape, characters, fractured narrative form, and ideological reversals.