Dr. Nadin Mai
Freelance writer, film programmer
Main focus: Film Studies
Websites/blogs: https://theartsofslowcinema.com , https://nadinmai.com
Languages: German, English, French
City: Rennes
Country: France
Topics: film studies, film, slow cinema, trauma cinema
Services: Talk, Moderation, Consulting, Interview
Willing to talk for nonprofit.
I have received my BA (Hons) in Film Studies and French from the University of Stirling (First Class) in summer 2011, after which I began a MLitt course at St Andrews University. I received my degree with (First Class) in summer 2012. In autumn of the same year, I started my doctoral research into the phenomenon of Slow Cinema.
My studies have opened a variety of interests and field of study, which I still follow to this date. My BA gave me a chance to explore practical filmmaking after two years of studying film theory. I was involved in directing and editing news items, short reports, and a short documentary called "A Bunch of Gentlemen". The latter was my dissertation project and had been done in a team. My MLitt, a fully theoretical course of one year, allowed me to discover my fascination for archival research, which I originally began as part of a larger project about the history of cinema(s) in St Andrews. My dissertation explored the uses of cinema houses in Scotland during WW II, and looked in particular at the ways in which cinemas in Scotland had been used for fundraising campaigns, Church meetings and Ministry of Information talks. During my doctoral research I looked at the ways in which director Lav Diaz used an aesthetic of long duration and absence in order to represent individual and collective post-trauma on screen. My PhD, entitled "The aesthetics of absence and duration in the post-trauma cinema of Lav Diaz", combines the field of Slow Cinema with that of Trauma Cinema, and was the first in-depth and single director study of the films of Lav Diaz.
Today, I work as writer and critic for my website The Art(s) of Slow Cinema, the single largest database in the English language on Slow Cinema. I have also written for a number of publications, such as for the BFI, photogénie, Multiplot!, Lo Specchio Scuro and Guernica. I curated a special Slow Cinema section for Highball TV and contributed to festival catalogues. In 2021, I published "Human Condition(s) - An aesthetic of cinematic slowness", followed in 2022 by "The Art(s) of Slow Cinema - The 10th Anniversary Anthology, 2012-2022".
My work has been translated into Arabic, Greek, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.
Examples of previous talks / appearances:
Als Gast habe ich für CUTS - Der kritische Filmpodcast über den thailändischen Regisseur Apichatpong Weerasethakul gesprochen.
This talk is in: German
For the book launch of my booklet Contemplating post-1989 Slow Cinema, I gave a talk on the ways in which Slow Cinema has represented the human condition since 1989.
This talk is in: English
Ich habe als Gast für den Bayrischen Rundfunk über Slow Cinema gesprochen.
This talk is in: German
Als Gast habe ich für CUTS - Der kritische Filmpodcast über den chinesischen Regisseur Bi Gan gesprochen.
This talk is in: German
For an Arthouse Cinema seminar at the Kuala Lumpur University, I spoke about the cinema of Lav Diaz and about his representation of (post-)trauma.
This talk is in: English
Als Gast habe ich für CUTS - Der kritische Filmpodcast über den ungarischen Regisseur Béla Tarr gesprochen.
This talk is in: German
"Filmexplorer and Visions du Réel are collaborating with Cinébulletin in order to foster an open discussion on the subject. With the help of experienced professionals, this discussion aims to bring an urgent reflection on digital publishing to light. In a world where moving images are in hyperproduction, the critical reception and discussions of films is more important than ever." (FilmExplorer)
"Critical Clicks" was part of a number of Industry Talks at the Visions du Réel Festival in 2019.
This talk is in: English
I was part of a roundtable discussion with filmmaker Lav Diaz and actress Hazel Orencio during the symposium "Everyday Struggle, Struggle Every Day - The Cinema of Lav Diaz" in Antwerp, The Netherlands.
This talk is in: English
In conversation with Tom Paulus about the cinema of Lav Diaz as part of the director retrospective at the Cinematek in Brussels, Belgium.
This talk is in: English
A fifty minute talk given as part of the symposium "Everyday Struggle, Struggle Every Day - The Cinema of Lav Diaz." I focused on the particular aesthetics of Diaz's cinema, and the ways in which the director combines aesthetics of Slow Cinema with narratives of trauma.
This talk is in: English
This talk functioned as an introduction to the works of Lav Diaz as part of the "Screening Room" series in Cologne. I sketched the directors upbringing, the historical circumstances of his growing up, and his way into filmmaking.
This talk is in: English