November 14, 2003

Contact:
Jennifer Meriam, Director
(954) 262-5355
Mike Laderman, Associate Director
(954) 262-5354
Mara Kiffin, Coordinator
(954) 262-5350

Cinematherpy Course At NSU Is Teaching Students About Power Of Images And Their Effect On Emotional Patterns

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL- The Fischler School of Education & Human Services at Nova Southeastern University (NSU) has been holding a course in Cinematherapy as part of its Master of Science in Education with a specialization in Interdisciplinary Arts (IA) degree program. This is the first time NSU has offered a degree program with a specialization in the arts. The Cinematherapy course is held in concurrence with the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLIFF), which continues until Nov. 16. Students taking the class are studying the concept of Cinematherapy, a new technique for analyzing films and psychological dynamics. It is rooted in the awareness that the film viewer is conditioned by his or her individual life experience, in turn making the viewer’s perception highly unique. Students who are taking the course are immersed in a process of in-depth examination of the meaning and power of images, attending Master Classes in screenwriting, film music, directing, and film production conducted by the leading professionals in each discipline who are participating in the film festival.

The opportunity to learn from the most successful practitioners of cinema arts will make it possible for students to not only meet objectives of personal professional development, but also to understand, in very pragmatic and realistic terms, how the business of cinema and image manipulation really functions. Dr. Gioia Gabellieri Bargagli is teaching the Cinematherapy course. Professor Gabellieri is a well-known pioneer of Cinematherapy in Italy, where she appears often in print, television and radio discussing the concept, and writes a regular Cinematherapy column for a popular international magazine. She also provides consultation on the consistency of imagery to producers, actors and writers in Europe, and has a website - e-therapy.net - which conducts Cinematherapy online. Gaballieri also is a member of UNESCO’s International Council on Cinema, Television and Audio-Visual, and has organized Cinematherapy Film Festivals in Paris, Rome and the University of Siena.

The Master of Science in Education with a specialization in Interdisciplinary Arts degree program is offered through the infrastructure of the Graduate Teacher Education Program (GTEP), although the program is equally geared toward non-educators interested in the arts. The program’s mission is to educate, nurture and facilitate visionary and conceptual artists by offering a nurturing learning environment, resources and tools to expand their knowledge, skills, experience, and entrepreneurship in the arts. The IA program fosters inquiry, research, and creative professional development by uniting faculty and students in acquiring and applying knowledge in professional, educational, community, corporate, cultural and other interdisciplinary settings.

For more information on the Cinematherapy course and the Interdisciplinary Arts Degree Program, contact Program Administrator/Artistic Director David Spangler at (954) 262-8363, or visit http://www.schoolofed.nova.edu/iap.

NSU’s Fischler School of Education and Human Services, based at NSU ’s North Miami Beach campus, is the largest accredited graduate school of education in the United States with more than 12,000 students annually in more than 50 sites in the U.S. and abroad, and via a variety of distance education technologies. FGSEHS, a leader in graduate distance education for educators, organizational leaders, and trainers throughout the world, has more than 7,000 students in graduate education programs in Florida alone, including both online programs and live classes at NSU locations statewide. Nova Southeastern University, with its main campus in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and student educational centers in Tampa, Orlando, Miami, West Palm Beach, and Jacksonville, Florida, and Las Vegas, Nevada, is the largest independent institution of higher education in the Southeast, and the 10th largest nationally. It awards bachelor’s, master’s, educational specialist, doctoral, and first-professional degrees in a wide range of fields, including business, counseling, computer and information sciences, education, medicine, dentistry, various health professions, law, marine sciences, psychology, and other social sciences. The university also offers 16 undergraduate majors through the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences.

EDITOR’S NOTE: In order to avoid brand confusion, please use “Nova Southeastern University” or “NSU” when referring to the university. Referring to NSU as “Nova” may confuse our school with another university with a similar name and/or with the Nova Public Schools in the Broward County School District. Thank you.