The Sixth Obstruction: A 6-hour Re:interpreting Film Festival and Masterclass with Indie Filmmaker Zack Godshall

Sundance alumnus director and visiting film professor Zack Godshall offers a hands-on workshop / film festival to help students hone visual storytelling techniques using video. This workshop is connected to our outdoor cinema event showing The Five Obstructions (2003), where Jørgen Leth remakes his classic short The Perfect Human (1967), under circumstances of increasing constraint.

Attendees will create 1-2 minute films based on a set of obstructions to be assigned during the workshop. Students must re-interpret a text of their choice or The Perfect Human. They can work individually or as part of a team. No prior film or technical knowledge is required. Students can use any camera. Smartphones are encouraged. **There will be a tech-related surprise prize donated by ARP for the top film (determined by our guest) and the top film will have the opportunity to be shown at the Library Rooftop Outdoor Cinema (June 1).

Schedule: 

11:00–11:30 Masterclass on visual storytelling and film techniques (lunch provided) 

12:30–17:00 Break for students write, shoot, and edit short (1-2 min) films using smartphones 

15:00–16:30 Editing consultations with filmmaker on a drop-in basis 

17:00  Screening and reception 

Often blending fiction and nonfiction in unscripted ways, Zack Godshall, makes films about unsung people and places that exist along the fringes of culture, exploring a variety of subjects ranging from claim adjusters working after natural disasters, coastal erosion, mental illness, and divinely-inspired builders.