Film Matters Magazine

Zach Boylston: How did you first hear about Film Matters and what inspired you to submit your article?

Christina Marie Newland: I think I found Film Matters because I was fascinated with some of the big scholarly film journals – coming fresh from university, I started looking for opportunities for young film scholarship. I was so excited to find out that Film Matters existed and that it was such a quality platform, as well. In terms of my article, on Raging Bull [“Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull, Italian American Masculinity, and the American Dream,” FM 4.1, 2013], it was my favorite chapter of my final year dissertation at Nottingham Trent University. My professors encouraged me to get it published outside of school, so I went for it.
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Junyang ZHAO: First off, can you tell us about The Ocularist?

Philip Formby: The profession of ocularistry is one that is little known to the majority but essential to a wide-ranging minority. The Ocularist follows John Pacey Lowrie in his journey to improve the life of his patients with his unique perspective and dedication to the advancement of ocular prosthetics.
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Emily Anderson: How did you first hear about Film Matters and how did you decide to get involved?

Aaron Han Joon Magnan-Park: I learned about Film Matters in a serendipitous manner. On his own initiative, Javi Altor Zubizarreta – one of my top students at the University of Notre Dame – submitted his revised freshman seminar research paper to Film Matters. When Film Matters accepted his submission for publication, he shared this good news with me. Upon receiving my complimentary copy of 1.2, I realized what a marvelous endeavor Film Matters is, and decided to enhance my pedagogy so that my top students would all benefit by also having a chance to get published in Film Matters. After Javi’s success with “Action Stars Who Don’t Get Any Action: Hong Kong Actors in U.S. Roles,” I have had a steady string of my students from the University of Notre Dame publish in this journal. This list includes Eleanor Huntington (1.4), Kathleen Bracke (3.1), Eric Hinrichsen (3.2), Grayson Nowak (4.1), and Rona Vaselaar (4.2).
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An image from Carl(a)

Junyang ZHAO: First off, can you tell us about Carl(a)?

Eli Hershko: Carl(a) is the story of a young transgender woman named Carla, a web-cam girl, aspiring shoe designer, who meets a man through her job, and falls in love with him (and he with her). But when she finally gets the financial means to complete her transition, it turns out this new love does not want her to change.

Carl(a) is a story about change, about not wanting to be where we are, but finding ourselves for whatever reason stuck in place. While the struggles of the transgender community are very specific to that community, there are universal themes in wanting to change, in wanting to be our true selves, whatever that may be. So I think/hope Carl(a) is able to transcend the “surface” part of the story – the story of Carla wanting to complete her transition – and reach a wider audience.
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