Staff Stories

Meet Ben Creech, Film / Video and Audio Technician

This fall, The Block is thrilled to welcome Ben Creech to the staff as Film / Video and Audio Technician. Ben runs the projection booth in collaboration with the Block Cinema team, casting images onto the screen, managing light and sound for public events, assisting faculty with tech in the auditorium, and overseeing other technical […]

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Block Cinema, Northwestern Learning, Student Associates

Undergraduates draw on Block inspiration to form new Northwestern Cinematheque

As a freshman, Northwestern student Rowan McCloskey attended as many Block Cinema screenings as he could. As a sophomore, he became a Block Museum Student Associate (BMSA) after learning about the program through a posting in The Daily Northwestern’s e-newsletter.   “Both of those things really cemented my relationship with The Block,” he said. “And because […]

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Staff Stories

Meet Tristen Ives, Head of Projection

In October 2022, The Block welcomed Tristen Ives as Head Projectionist, an integral role in the Block Cinema program. We sat down with Tristen to learn more about their work and background, and the skill, technique, and care behind a projectionist’s craft. Can you tell us a bit about your background? How did you find […]

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Block Cinema

Holding Binoculars, Pointing a Camera: Filmmakers Frédéric Moffet, Joelle Mercedes, and Deborah Stratman [Audio]

On February 25, 2022 filmmakers Frédéric Moffet, Joelle Mercedes, and Deborah Stratman joined Block Cinema for a conversation on their short films centered on birds and birdwatching practices. With works by Kevin Jerome Everson, Margaret Tait, Frédéric Moffet, Deborah Stratman, and additional artists, the program explored human-avian relationships from a variety of formal, emotional, and conceptual perspectives. I often […]

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Block Cinema

Picturing “The Long Term”: A discussion with Prison + Neighborhood Arts Project [Video]

Since 2011, Chicago’s Prison + Neighborhood Arts Project has brought artists, educators, and activists together with incarcerated individuals at Illinois’ Stateville Correctional Center.  Through classes, workshops, and exhibitions, PNAP creates opportunities for learning across prison walls, connecting those inside with the tools and resources needed to creatively communicate their concerns to the larger Chicago community.  […]

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Block Cinema, Our Community

Young filmmakers take on policing, surveillance, and technology at Block Cinema [Video]

On June 18, 2020, Sepehr Vakil, Assistant Professor of Learning Sciences, School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University welcomed an online audience to an unique Block Cinema program shaped by a partnership between Northwestern and Evanston Township High School. “To say that these films are deeply and acutely relevant is to state the obvious…For […]

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