The summer school aims to strengthen participants’ skills in the evaluation, critical assessment, interdisciplinary exploration, and historically grounded analysis of the multifaceted and dynamic contribution of film and cinema to contemporary American and international culture. It also seeks to enhance participants’ critical understanding of issues of race, gender, ideology, and “truth,” as these are negotiated by American filmmakers, artists, and researchers.

The thematic focus of the school begins from a different and dynamic understanding of “culture” — and therefore civilization — as “cultivation,” in the sense of an active and purposeful practice that challenges established theories and practices of artistic and cinematic production. It raises critical questions both about artistic practice itself and about the ways in which it engages with its social and historical context, expresses pressing social issues, and interrogates its own social and ideological implications.

The exploration of the topic will include case studies drawn from commercial and artistic cinema, experimental film and documentary, video art and video performance, medical video, as well as other contemporary post-cinematic media. A group of experienced instructors from both academia and the professional fields of cinema and cinematic arts will approach the subject from academic and research perspectives, as well as from the standpoint of creative practice and directing, highlighting cinema and video as means of cultural critique and intervention in social reality, both in America and internationally.

Knowledge

Upon successful completion of the program, participants will:

1. Acquire a broad range of theoretical and applied knowledge regarding contemporary audiovisual production in film, documentary, and video art in America.
2. Develop an understanding of the importance of interdisciplinary and cross-thematic approaches to issues related to cinema and post-cinematic media.
3. Apply part of the knowledge they have gained through practical exercises and assignments of a critical nature.

Skills

Upon successful completion of the program, participants will:

1. Be able to apply new approaches in fields of work or study related to the themes addressed by the Summer School (film studies, cultural studies, humanities, with applications in the interdisciplinary field of health humanities).
2. Demonstrate skills in critical engagement as well as in the aesthetic analysis of audiovisual works.
3. Possess communication skills at the level of both theoretical and technical information.
4. Possess knowledge of American culture and the artistic production of film and video.

Competencies

Upon successful completion of the program, participants will:

1. Develop awareness of ethical and practical issues concerning the active role of audiovisual production in social contexts.
2. Be able to identify artistic practices and strategies, as well as frameworks (e.g. medical, commercial, artistic), groups, and networks that shape the meaning of audiovisual film and video production in America and exert international influence.

The programme is addressed to graduate and undergraduate-level students, researchers, professionals in the field of Cinema and audiovisual arts, artists, curators, and workers in cultural sectors. Its aim is to provide the necessary tools for those who wish to pursue academic or professional career in the fields of film and media studies, culture and American culture, as well as the humanities, offering an alternative perspective on American film production and highlighting forms of culture that foster critical thinking and social engagement. Excellent knowledge of the English language is required, as the programme and the assessment process will be conducted entirely in English.

Interested parties submit an application online on the website of the Center for Training and Lifelong Learning of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

Applications for participation can be submitted by:

The Application must be accompanied by the following supporting documents:

1.Short CV

2.Letter of interest/ Cover letter (1 page)

Prerequisites for participation in the program:

► Internet access

► Possession of personal e- mail

► Basic computer skills

Selection will be made based on assessment of CV and letter of interest.

In the event that the minimum required number of trainees is not reached , KEDIVIM reserves the right to change the start date of the program or even cancel it.

Online, with the method of synchronous distance learning

Teaching Unit 1:

The 1970s “Paranoid Conspiracy” Thriller in Context: A Critical Approach to Society, Politics, and Truth in American Cinema (3 hours)

Teaching Unit 2:

Race and Horror in American Cinema (3 hours)

Teaching Unit 3:

Reframing Mental Illness in American Cinema: From Stereotype to Storytelling (3 hours)

Teaching Unit 4:

Documenting American Nightmares: Immigration and Gun Violence (3 hours)

Teaching Unit 5:

War and Hollywood: Ideology, Spectacle, and Gender (3 hours)

Teaching Unit 6:

Critical Analysis of American Mythology and Identity in Superhero Cinema (3 hours)

Teaching Unit 7:

An American Invention: Mediated Autofictions in the Age of Post-Truth (3 hours)

Teaching Unit 8:

The Mockumentary Moment: Counter-Ideological Film and Video Cultures in the USA (3 hours)

Teaching Unit 9:

Reworking Images: Appropriation, Remix Culture, and the American Cinematic Archive (3 hours)

Teaching Unit 10:

Artists’ Video-Performance Practices in the 1960s and 1970s (3 hours)

Teaching Unit 11:

Powers and Problems of Seeing Inside the Body (3 hours)

Participants are provided with:

study material in digital form, including journal articles and book excerpts, slides and audiovisual material

A. Trainee Obligations:

1. Participation in the KEDIVIM AUTH programs implies full acceptance of the program’s Study Guide and the Internal Operating Regulations of KEDIVIM AUTH .
2. The presence of trainees in educational programs is mandatory. In programs implemented in person, as well as in those implemented using the modern distance learning method, attendance is generally mandatory and the absence limit cannot exceed 10% of the scheduled training hours. The attendance of asynchronous education is implemented according to the study schedule defined by each program.
3. To successfully complete the program, participants must:
4. the percentage of absences should not exceed 10% of the scheduled training hours,
5. have successfully completed the prescribed examination,
6. have paid the full tuition fees by 17/6/2026

B. Trainee Rights:

1. Trainees are informed by the Administrative Support Department of KEDIVIM about any kind of information related to the operation of the Center.
2. Trainees are supported electronically through the educational platform by their instructors , within the framework of the educational process, to resolve questions and provide clarifications related to the thematic modules of the program.
3. Trainees have the right to request the interruption of the program and the refund of tuition fees, in accordance with the provisions of article 12.9 of the Internal Operating Regulations of KEDIVIM AUTH .
4. The work of the trainees is protected under intellectual property provisions.

After successful completion of the program, participants are awarded a Certificate of General Training, which is issued by the Center for Training and Lifelong Learning of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and signed by the President of KEDIVIM.

Participants who attended, but did not complete the entire program, have the option of being provided with a Certificate of Attendance.