Alfred Hitchcock: "North by Northwest" & "The Birds" - With Joel Gunz

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Love Alfred Hitchcock thrillers? Learn how Hitchcock crafted his suspenseful films from Hitchcock expert Joel Gunz.

We’ll discuss with Joel Gunz, award-winning filmmaker, the early life experiences that helped shape Hitchcock’s approach to filmmaking, including the World Wars. We’ll then discuss the various creative phases Hitchcock went through as his filmmaking evolved, and we’ll close by discussing how Hitchcock applied his approach to two of his most iconic films — North By Northwest (1959) and The Birds (1963).

Alfred Hitchcock was an English film director, screenwriter, producer and editor.   His career spanned over six decades and he directed over 50 feature films which gathered over 46 Academy Award nominations.   So many of Hitchcock’s movies are memorable including:  Rope (1948), Dial M for Murder (1954), To Catch a Thief (1955), The Trouble with Harry (1955), and Vertigo (1958).  Many of Hitchcock’s best movies included the biggest star in Hollywood–Jimmie Stewart, Ingrid Bergman and Grace Kelly.

EmpowerU’s Michael Mercier will guide you through this discussion about film and about one of the art’s most memorable directors.

ABOUT JOEL GUNZ
Joel Gunz is an award-winning filmmaker and president of MacGuffin Media and HitchCon, bringing together movie lovers of all ages together for online movie nights, streaming educational films and to read The Hitchcockian Quarterly. Entering its fourth year, HitchCon has grown to become the world’s largest annual conference dedicated to the artistry of Alfred Hitchcock. Joel’s fascination with the Master of Cinema commenced at age 12 and never stopped, eventuating in hundreds of scholarly articles, chapters, and essays, earning him the online nickname Alfred Hitchcock Geek.

As a film essayist, Joel adds his personal history to his scholarship, blending the two with special effects that re-examine the duality of subject and object, the imaginal and the real. His latest such film, Spellbound by L’Amour Fou, won Best Short Documentary at the Medusa Film Festival. He is also producer and director of three essay film series: How to Watch Hitchcock (2018-19), Freak the Geek (2018-current) and Alfred Hitchcock, Master of the Surreal (2019-current).

Joel and his partner, Christy La Guardia, live with their beagle, Charlie, in Olympia, Washington.

ABOUT EMPOWERU AMERICA
EmpowerU America's motto is "educate, enjoy, engage", and we've been providing free educational lectures, interviews, and events to the public on a range of subjects for over 13 years. During our spring, 2024, semester we will offer a Tuesday night podcast consisting of a one-hour virtual-only interview with experts on a variety of topics. Join Michael Mercier and Jerry Thomas as they take turns behind EmpowerU's host microphone interviewing guests on a variety of subjects, including film, politics, the media, architecture, history, and world affairs.