Filmuni: Can you tell us in two sentences something about yourself?
Ellen Seiter: I live in Los Angeles, with a giant dog (A Newfoundland) and my three grown children, who are all in the film business, one way or the other. I teach film history, theory and criticism at USC film school.
F: Can you describe the research project you are conducting in Babelsberg and Berlin in one sentence (and elaborate on it in two more if you like)?
ES: My project looks at two sides of the relationship between brains and screens: how brain diseases are represented in the cinema and how screens affect our brains. I will be looking at film archives in Berlin and also working with neuroscientists at the Berlin School of Mind and Brain.
F: Will there be a chance to learn more about your research in a lecture or seminar at the Film University (if so: where and when)?
ES: I will give a lecture on this topic: "Your Brain on the Screen" some time in April.
F:What do you associate with Babelsberg and what do you like (best) about the Film University?
ES: I associate Babelsberg with the filming of Metropolis, which I always show in my course on Anime, where we also read Tezuka Osama's manga of that name and Rintaro's 2001 film. I find the Film University very beautiful and the students smart and open to new ideas. I am very impressed that they may use the studio orchestra for their filmmaking.