Courtesy of Tori Rich ’28
Beginning with the opening of the Stark Center for the Moving Image and its professional level equipment and editing lab in November of 2023, and now the appointment of the first film artist in residence in eight years, Su Friedrich, the Film Studies Department at Connecticut College has been trending upwards in recent years.
Film Studies major Claire Protano, ‘25, learned about Friedrich’s hire at the spring film course review last semester, saying that she “could just feel the complete shock and excitement in the room after the announcement.”
Friedrich has been making films for nearly fifty years, starting with her 1978 film, “Hot Water.” Her work is self-reflective and often extremely personal, while simultaneously being a form of political commentary and expression through the style of documentary.
One of Friedrich’s most renowned works is “Sink or Swim” (1990). The film follows stories from Friedrich’s childhood about her father and their relationship through a series of twenty six short stories. It was selected for preservation by the Library of Congress in 2015, highlighting the film as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” It’s also Protano’s favorite work by Friedrich. Protano describes the film as “truly a timeless work of art that has inspired me greatly in my process of creating a documentary this semester.”
Another of Friedrich’s projects is “Edited By,” a survey of over two hundred editors—mainly women— whose works have been monumental in creating and revolutionizing the art of film editing but have been otherwise glossed over. “Edited By” can be viewed online alongside brief articles about the history of women working in film and their various biographies, as well as two companion films compiling the work of the women featured in the survey.
Friedrich is teaching an upper level film production class this semester: Constructing the Documentary. Each student is creating their own short documentary film on a topic of their choosing which they will present at the film exhibition in December. They also watch short films at weekly screenings, to expose the students to different types of documentary content.
The purpose of the Film Artist in Residence is to supplement the department’s curriculum by sharing years of experience, as someone working in the field of film creation. Protano describes this role’s purpose as, “[N]ot necessarily bringing in someone better, but someone different.”
Through working with Friedrich, Protano hopes to learn more “about her artistic process [and] her journey of creation on the cutting room floor,” as well as her perspective on shifting mediums and experience with the changing cinematic landscape. Friedrich’s presence and knowledge brings an artist with more experience on the production side of things, especially considering that “Professor Ross Morin [was] the only production professor in the department for many years up until this fall.”
Friechrich is able to work at Conn because of a generous endowment from the Fran and Ray Stark Foundation, who also funded the construction of the Stark Center for the Moving Image.
If you’re interested in seeing some of Su Friedrich’s work, Professor Sonia Misra is hosting a screening of “Sink or Swim” on Wednesday, October 23 at 7 p.m. in Olin Science Center!
