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    [EFF17S9] Session 9: The Illinois Parables

    Cite as: Temple, Michael and Barrington, Matthew (2023): [EFF17S9] Session 9: The Illinois Parables. Birkbeck College, University of London.

    Description

    28 March 2017, 18:30, ICA Cinema

    Film: The Illinois Parables, Deborah Stratman, USA, 2016, 16mm, 60 minutes, English

    Described by the artist as “a suite of Midwestern parables that question the historical role that belief has played in ideology and national identity”, The Illinois Parables proposes a critical and timely reflection on history and the landscape. Arranged into 11 chapters, spanning migratory settlements in 600CE to European colonisation and the political struggles of the 1960s, this exemplary essay film excavates fragmentary histories and collective memories of exodus, forced displacement and natural disaster. Stratman unearths the metaphysical themes of the American sense of self, to reveal the tangled, but rearticulated histories of the dispossessed buried deeper in the layers of the Midwestern soil. “A dense weave of found and original sights and sounds, […] at once an experimental documentary, a work of historical excavation and an insistently moral ideological critique.” (Manohla Dargis)

    After the screening, filmmaker Deborah Stratman was in conversation with critic and film essayist Kevin B. Lee.

    Previews


    1 - EFF17S9 Introduction (EFF17S9 Stratman Illinois Parables introduction 28-3-2017.MP3)

    2 - EFF17S9 Discussion (EFF17S9 Stratman Illinois Parables discussion 28-3-2017 EFF.MP3)

    Collection Method

    The Essay Film Festival ran between 2015 and 2023, and presented a global range of contemporary and restored essayistic works. The events are now archived here for research purposes.

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    Metadata

    Dataset Title:

    [EFF17S9] Session 9: The Illinois Parables
    Creators:

    Temple, Michael and Barrington, Matthew
    Dataset Contributors:

    ContributionNameEmailORCID
    CollaboratorMcCabe, Janetj.mccabe@bbk.ac.ukORCID logohttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2916-9876
    CollaboratorYapp, Emmaeyapp01@student.bbk.ac.ukORCID logohttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2646-6066
    Subjects:

    Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication
    Data collection method:

    The Essay Film Festival ran between 2015 and 2023, and presented a global range of contemporary and restored essayistic works. The events are now archived here for research purposes.
    Collection period:

    FromTo
    28 March 201728 March 2017
    Statement on legal, ethical, and access issues:

    All film stills were provided by participating artists.
    Depositing User: Emma Yapp
    Date Deposited: 11 Aug 2026 14:37
    Last Modified: 11 Aug 2026 14:37
    Publisher: Birkbeck College, University of London

    Export / Share Citation

    Cite as: Temple, Michael and Barrington, Matthew (2023): [EFF17S9] Session 9: The Illinois Parables. Birkbeck College, University of London.

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