Masterclass | Porto/Post/Doc | Erika Balsom

When James Benning started making films, he claimed to feel "like a craftsman". In fact, he had no technical training to begin with. He did have two degrees in mathematics, something critics mention when they want to highlight the rigour of films like Ten Skies and One Way Boogie Woogie. The director loves shots that are strongly marked by rules - but not as an end in itself. The formal precision of his cinema has never been formalistic, but rather a way of sharpening the eye and finding freedom in restrictions. Over fifty years, he has filmed chronicles of American hegemony and counter-hegemony, producing an unconventional history of colonisation, racial violence, land use and a sense of unbelonging.

The masterclass is part of the Porto/Post/Doc: Film & Media Festival programme and will take place on Friday, November 26th, at 6.30pm, at Escola das Artes.

Erika Balsom - Professor of Film Studies at King's College, London, is the author of four books, the most recent of which, Ten Skies, is devoted entirely to James Benning's film of the same name. Her academic articles have appeared in magazines such as Screen, Cinema Journal and Grey Room. She is also a critic, writing regularly for Artforum, 4Columns and CinemaScope.

Access: Free entry subject to capacity.

The event will take place following the health and labour authorities' guidelines on health and safety procedures and practices in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The following rules are in place on site:

• Mandatory use of mask
• Hand disinfection with alcohol at the entrance (available on site)
• Registration of participants at the entrance
• Seat spacing
• Temperature measurement