Curriculum vitae
Alessandro Pirolini is a film scholar with a Ph.D. in Film Studies, a Master of Arts in United States Studies, and a Laurea in Modern Literature and Film Studies. He focuses his research on the application of multimedia tools to the teaching of film history and theory. His interests cover American and European film history, the influence of Mitteleuropean directors in Hollywood, and Italian film history. He is the author of several articles on film history and theory, a book on director Rouben Mamoulian (1999), and a book on the postmodern aspects of the cinema of Preston Sturges (2010).Teaching Experience
UCLA - Department of ItalianLecturer (Los Angeles, 2002-2003 and 2011 to present)
Taught the following classes:
The "(in)visible connections:" Literature, film, and music in light of Italo Calvino's Six Memos for the Next Millennium.
Stallions, mobsters, virgins, and snookies: Italian gender between stereotype and transgression in Italian and American cinema.
Italian Literature of the 19th century, between Classicism and Romanticism.
Italian Cinema Between Sex and Politics, under the supervision of Prof. Thomas Harrison.
Taught several sessions of Italian Language and Culture.
ANTIOCH UNIVERSITY - BA Program in Liberal Studies
Instructor (Los Angeles, 2010 to present)
Planned and taught classes on Women in Film and Television.
Supervised and evaluated student internships.
THE OSHER INSTITUTE AT UCLA
Instructor (Los Angeles, 2008 to present)
Developed and taught The International Cinema Series Program, including classes about Italian, French, German, Spanish, and British cinema (taught semi-annually).
Planned and taught the following classes: The Cinema of Orson Welles, The Cinema of Preston Sturges, The Art of the Moving Picture, Storytelling in Cinema and Television: An Introduction, Women Directors, Mittel-Europeans in Hollywood, The Cinema of Ernst Lubitsch.
2012 Artist in-residence: Organized a special event about film music and scoring with composer David Newman.
ANTELOPE VALLEY COLLEGE - Visual and Performing Arts
Instructor (Lancaster, CA, 2005 to present)
Adjunct Instructor
Planned and taught the following Film and Communication classes: Introduction to Film and Television and Intercultural and Women’s Films (taught on alternate semesters).
Created, developed, and taught an online version of Introduction to film (taught semi-annually). Delivered a series of multimedia introductions to the screenings of the community project Cinema Series aimed at building a bridge between continuing education and local communities.
Wrote Course Outline of Records (CORs) for Film History and Intro to Film classes—the Course Outline of Record provides information for students who need to plan their educational future, counselors who need to advise students, and faculty who intend to develop or revise courses and establishing Student Learning Outcomes (SLO).
UCLA EXTENSION - Entertainment Studies and Performing Arts
Instructor (Los Angeles, 2003 to present)
Created a series of online classes on film language and aesthetics structured around hypermedia texts, interactive multimedia assignments, and discussion boards.
Developed a series of multimedia lectures about film language, shooting, editing, and narrative techniques; designed audiovisual exercises and interactive exams aimed at fostering critical thinking and application of film theories and methods to the practice of filmmaking .
Designed, and developed the class The Language of Filmmaking (taught quarterly) a multimedia series of lecture presentations dedicated to film language, theory, and narrative, including examples from over 200 film clips, behind-the-scene footage, film scores, and other digitized material, aimed at building a bridge between the theory and the practice of filmmaking. The course has now become a requirement for the Certificate Programs in Entertainment Studies.
Designed and developed the class Visual and Narrative Strategies in Film and Television (taught annually).
Developed an international partnership between UCLA Extension and the Metaculture Institute.
UCLA - Honors Collegium
Lecturer (Los Angeles, 2003)
Taught the class The Making of Poetry on poetry and semiotics, under the supervision of Prof. Luigi Ballerini.
EVERETT COMMUNITY COLLEGE - Arts and Media Department
Online instructor (Everett, 2005-2007)
Planned and taught the online class Introduction to Film and Television.
UCLA EXTENSION - Humanities and Social Sciences Department
Instructor (Los Angeles, 2002-2003)
Planned and taught annually the following classes in English and Italian: The Representation of Memory in Italian Cinema, Women in Italian Cinema, Contemporary Italian Cinema.
NEW UNIVERSITY OF CINEMA AND TELEVISION
Education Director for the U.S. (Rome-Los Angeles, 2001-2003)
Developed summer program for international students.
UNIVERSITY OF TURIN - Film Department
Lecturer (Turin, Italy, 1997-1998)
Planned and taught the seminar The Cinema of Stanley Kubrick. Responsible for the selection, acquisition, and evaluation of film magazines and books at the departmental library.
Research and Curatorial Work
ISTITUTO METACULTURA [link](Rome, Italy, 1995-1998)
Researcher, developer, selector.
Multimedia and archival research on the work of Roberto Rossellini, Ernst Lubitsch, Alfred Hitchcock, aimed at the discovery of cross-references among texts. Multimedia development and implementation of CD-roms and websites.
XIII TURIN FILM FESTIVAL [link]
(Turin, Italy, 1995)
Festival co-curator (video section)
ARCHIVIO NAZIONALE CINEMATOGRAFICO DELLA RESISTENZA (ANCR) [link]
(Turin, Italy, 1994-1996)
Archivist, selector, and retrospective curator.
Planned and organized film screenings, festivals, and retrospectives, written and edited catalogues, film programs, and press releases. Responsible for the selection, acquisition, and evaluation of books and multimedia material.
Lectures and Conferences
UCLA-DEPARTMENT OF ITALIANLos Angeles, CA (November 2008)
Luchino Visconti’s The Leopard.
THE ACADEMY AT DISNEY ANIMATION
Burbank, CA (Sept 2006 and July, 2008)
Lectures on cinema and avant-garde.
UCLA - SCHOOL OF FILM AND TELEVISION
Los Angeles, CA (November, 2005)
Conference: Pasolini and the City.
ITALIAN INSTITUTE OF CULTURE
Los Angeles, CA (August 2000)
Introductions to screenings of Neorealist films.
FRANKFURT FILM MUSEUM
Frankfurt, Germany (1998)
Lecture: Totò after Totò.
XVI A.I.S.S.L.I. CONFERENCE
UCLA, Los Angeles, CA (1997)
Lecture: Text Metamorphosis in Pasolini’s Othello.