This course will be a combination of lecture/discussion and hands-on work - exploring and making experimental films. The first part of the course will focus on film form, the language of film, and how meaning is created in film. We will discuss the relation of narrative and narration, and study the formal elements of film. These will be the elements you will experiment with for your final project. The second part of the course will survey the history of experimental film from the silent period to contemporary digital media projects. We will explore the development of a range of avant-garde film forms and practices, situating them in relation to the larger artistic, social, and intellectual contexts in which they arose. Through screenings, you will be exposed to groundbreaking filmmakers and their work. In the final part of the course you will create your own experimental short film and the course will culminate in a public screening of these films.