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Sean David Christensen - Art / Cinema / Music

  • Art / Cinema / Music
  • Ghost Tape #10
  • Maggie Dave
  • Blog
  • About

Just a bunch of things

Oh, hello. This is a general collection of things. Things I do, as well as things that I like. 

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Seven new ethnographic documentaries produced during the 2018-2019 MVA program at the USC Center for Visual Anthropology; World Premiere screening poster (9/22/19)

Seven new ethnographic documentaries produced during the 2018-2019 MVA program at the USC Center for Visual Anthropology; World Premiere screening poster (9/22/19)

MVA 2019 Thesis Films: Center for Visual Anthropology, University of Southern California

September 22, 2019 in film

This afternoon’s screening at USC School of Cinematic Arts caps another remarkable year of work by the latest MVA cohort at the USC Center for Visual Anthropology. During this one-year intensive MA program, students are trained in ethnographic methods to observe and document people’s embodiment of cultural practice & personal histories, resulting in a half-hour documentary film.

Topics of this year's thesis films include: First-generation college students of color studying animation; parent-child communication between Chinese international students (CIS) born under China's One Child Policy and their parents; polyamorous parenting in the United States; the ritual of Tefillin among Orthodox Jewish men in Los Angeles; traditional Filipino hand-tap tattooing; the culture of social service in a facility for homeless families in Santa Barbara; and the challenges of small farmers in the U.S., 80% of whom are seniors, facing retirement with uncertainly about who will take over their farms when it comes.

Now serving as part of the faculty at the USC Department of Anthropology, after having gone through the program myself in 2018, I’ve gained a deeper appreciation for the web of support required to lift even (one) film off the ground! My MVA film, Ghost Tape #10, was no different - owing its spirt to the international network of teachers, specialists and cultural advisors I met through USC. My heart is grateful to all the students who collectively inspired their best work amongst them this year, and the instructors who guided them. Learn more about this year’s MVA films here!

2019 MVA Thesis Projects:

Changing Hands: Land in Transition by Amanda Broder-Hahn

To Be Anything, Animating Possible Selves by Marissa Dimitrion

Polyamory in the Family: It Takes a Village by Maleia Mikesell

The Modern Day Mambabatok: Lane Wilcken and Filipino Tattooing in the Diaspora by Kayla Sotomil

Webs of Compassion by Rebecca Truszkowski

Obligation & Self: Chinese International Students and the One-Child Policy by Qihao Wang

Bind It As A Sign: Learning the Jewish Tefillin Ritual by Joshua Zepeda

Source: https://cool939.wixsite.com/mva2019
Tags: USC, MVA, Center for Visual Anthropology, USC Department of Anthropology, Amanda Broder-Hahn, Marissa Dimitrion, Maleia Mikesell, Kayla Sotomil, Rebecca Truszkowski, Qihao Wang, Joshua Zepeda, www.seandavidchristensen.com
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email: sean@seandavidchristensen.com