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Past Film/Video | Documentaries | The Box
Stream | Artist Residency
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This month The Box presents the latest short film by Ohio State’s Vera Brunner-Sung—a fascinating look at character actor Mark Metcalf’s storied career.
It’s fair to say Metcalf has spent his four-decade career as “The Man.” However, for better or worse, playing aggrieved authority figures in movies (National Lampoon’s Animal House), TV series (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Seinfeld), and music videos (Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It”) have locked him into very specific roles.
Balancing between essay and portrait film, Character takes a critical look back on Metcalf’s life and career in a meditation on power, privilege, and the perils of becoming a “type.” Completed with the support of the center’s Film/Video Studio, Character had its world premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, and a work-in-progress version was screened as part of last year’s Unorthodocs festival at the Wex. (video, 16:47 mins.)
Character, image courtesy of Vera Brunner-Sung
Mark Metcalf and Vera Brunner-Sung, photo: Spencer Lookabaugh
An Assistant Professor in Ohio State’s Department of Theatre, Film, and Media Arts, Vera Brunner-Sung is a core faculty member of the university’s Moving-Image Production program. Using experimental, documentary, and narrative techniques to explore the relationship between place and identity, her works have been presented at festivals, museums, and galleries in the US and abroad, including Italy’s Torino Film Festival, MoMA PS1 in New York, San Francisco International Film Festival, Ann Arbor Film Festival, and Toronto’s Images Festival. In addition to making films, Brunner-Sung is a writer and educator, with essays, reviews, and reports appearing in Sight & Sound, Cinema Scope, and Millennium Film Journal. More on the artist’s website.
FILM/VIDEO PROGRAMS MADE POSSIBLE BY Cardinal Health Kaufman Development
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY Rohauer Collection Foundation
WEXNER CENTER PROGRAMS MADE POSSIBLE BY Greater Columbus Arts Council L Brands Foundation American Electric Power Foundation The Columbus Foundation Ohio Arts Council Mary and C. Robert Kidder Bill and Sheila Lambert Institute of Museum and Library Services Huntington Nationwide Foundation Adam R. Flatto Arlene and Michael Weiss
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY Michael and Paige Crane Axium Plastics Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams Lisa M. Barton Business Furniture Installations Our Country Home
Past Film/Video
Vera Brunner-Sung
