FILM LECTURE:

THE CINEMATIC GHOSTS OF 9/11

In this 45-minute interactive lecture, film critic and lecturer Hugo Emmerzael traces how 9/11 reshaped cinema and public consciousness. Looking at everything from Hollywood blockbusters and obscure world cinema to documentaries and conspiracy films, he explores how the attacks became a new form of American mythmaking — and how the political anxieties surrounding them continue to haunt cinema today.

The 9/11 attacks unfolded at the dawn of a new media landscape, as consumer cameras, 24-hour news and online video transformed a historic tragedy into an unprecedented media spectacle. Its impact on cinema was immediate: Hollywood digitally erased the Twin Towers from films, while the industry turned towards a new era of war and terror, helping shape the cultural narrative around America’s “War on Terror.”

Drawing on film history, critical theory and the work of filmmakers, Hugo also looks beyond 9/11 itself to examine the political and cultural forces that were already shaping American cinema before the attacks.

Please note that this lecture will be presented in English.