“Chosen by the Best”: Four Films Selected by Best Patrons, Hank Hoffman, and Mark Schenker
Mark Schenker continues his “How to Read a Film” series with four movies spanning four generations and representing genres ranging from romantic comedy to psychological horror to both period and contemporary dramas. The four directors, two women and two men, are from Germany, the U.S., New Zealand, and China.  

 Nov 27             Ninotchka (1939)        Ernst Lubitsch (1892-1947)                             
Dec 4               Seconds (1966)            John Frankenheimer (1930-2002)
Dec 11             The Piano (1993)         Jane Campion (b. 1954)
Dec 18             Nomadland (2020)     Chloe Zhao (b. 1982)

As always, attendees are urged to see the films in advance of each program, which will include ample clips from each movie. All programs are on Sundays at 2pm.  $7 entry fee.

Support for this series has been provided to Best Video Film & Cultural Center from CT Humanities (CTH), with funding provided by the Connecticut State Department of Economic and Community Development/Connecticut Office of the Arts (COA) from the Connecticut State Legislature.

Mark J. Schenker has been at Yale College since 1990. He is currently a senior associate dean of the College and dean of academic affairs. A former lecturer in the English Department at Yale, he received his Ph.D. from Columbia University with a concentration in 19th -century and early 20th -century English literature.

For over 35 years, Dean Schenker has lectured on literature and film and has led book discussion series in more than 100 venues in Connecticut, including public libraries and retirement communities, museums and cultural centers. For a decade he presented programming at public libraries in association with the annual summer productions by the Shakespeare on the Sound theater company located in Fairfield County, and since 2007 he has conducted Literature and Medicine Programs to health care providers at Connecticut hospitals. His affiliation with the Florence Griswold Museum (Old Lyme) has resulted in over 100 sessions there on literature, film, and the visual arts.

Dean Schenker also conducts monthly book discussions for a number of private reading groups in Connecticut. In 2001, he received the Wilbur Cross Award for Outstanding Humanities Scholar, presented by the Connecticut Humanities Council.