This course takes you on a trip around the globe sampling works by directors representing a range of perspectives and approaches. Touching down in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, we'll look at how filmmakers express and address their lived realities at the intersection of race, class, and gender. We will examine the function of cinema as social, and cultural praxis; a method of creative memory-keeping, and a catalyst for dialogue. We will look at filmmaking in the context of historical events and forces - from colonialism, industrialization to globalization - and explore the situations and environments in which certain films were produced resulting in a broader understanding of cultural criticism, historical periods, national schools, stylistic movements, and economic issues relating to the development of cinema around the globe.