Followed by a talkback
Join us for an exciting screening of Honors Film Projects by the Cornell Senior class featuring Top of My School by Katherine Lynn-Rose '25. Experience outstanding storytelling and gain insight directly from the student director during a Q&A session following the event. Free and open to the public.
Thursday, May 8, 5:00 pm, Kiplinger Theatre
This showcase of student films from Advanced Documentary Production (ANTHR/PMA 4401/7401) will feature Women’s Court by Can Cao, The Milking Parlor by Gus Dupin, and Radical Ritual by Jacob Berman. The student directors will participate in a Q&A session following the event. Free and open to the public. First come, first served.
Thursday, May 8, 6:30 pm, Kiplinger Theatre
The Student Film Screening will feature unique, empathetic, and collaborative works from students in PMA 3570: Film and Video Production I and PMA 1410: Media Production Laboratory. Let's come together and share a magical evening of storytelling through the language of cinema, 24 frames per second. This event is free and open to the public. First-come, first-served. (Tickets are not required).
For mature audiences only. Films contain material that may be triggering to some audience members.
Friday, May 9, 5:00 pm, Kiplinger Theatre
Past events
Projects & Participation Kick-off
Join us for a general information session where you can explore various ways to participate in PMA's live and mediated productions. Meet faculty and student directors who will share insights about their projects and casting requirements.
Wednesday, January 22, 7:30 pm, Kiplinger Theatre
Missed our Spring 2025 Projects and Participation Kick-off? Watch the recorded session on PMA YouTube channel.
Festival 24 features an array of plays written, directed, rehearsed, and performed by students in just 24 hours!
Saturday, January 25, 7:30 pm, Get Tickets
Class of '56 Dance Studio Theatre (SB10)
Call for Actors: Film Thesis Project "The Manatee Blues"
Please prepare a 1-2 minute monologue. Read the character bios HERE.
Wednesday, January 29, 6pm, Room 322
LeRoy Neiman: The Life of America's Most Beloved and Belittled Artist
A book talk by Dr. Travis Vogan, Professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Department of American Studies, University of Iowa.
The untold story of an American hustler who upset the art world and became a pop culture icon, cutting a swath across twentieth-century history and culture.
Moderated by PMA Chair Samantha N. Sheppard.
Wednesday, February 5, 5:00 pm, Film Forum
PMA Free Screening of "Assemblage"
Assemblage is a groundbreaking film for public television, made on location in San Francisco’s Ghirardelli Square, converging dance, music, film, and urban design. The screening will be followed by panel discussion with guest artist Patricia Lent, Co-Director of the Merce Cunningham Trust and esteemed company alumnus, moderated by Dr. Benjamin Piekut & Dr. Juan Manuel Aldape Muñoz with hosts Danielle Russo and Olive Prince. The event will also feature live demonstrations of assemblage by Cornellians in rehearsal with Patricia Lent for PMA’s Annual Spring Dance Presenting Series on April 25-26.
Wednesday, March 5, 7:30 pm, Film Forum
Chats with the Chair
"Chats with the Chair" invites PMA majors, minors, and those interested in the department to join the chair for food and fellowship. Come learn more about the department, give feedback, and talk about everything performing and media arts at Cornell and beyond! Lunch provided!
RSVP by March 4th to pma@cornell.edu.
Thursday, March 6, Noon - 1 pm, Room 220
PMA Presents: An Evening with John Cameron Mitchell, Carol B. Epstein Guest Artist
The evening will feature a talkback conversation, moderated by PMA Professor Nick Salvato. Mitchell will also be participating in a masterclass with PMA students.
Friday, March 7, 6:30 pm in the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts
Professional Directions: Production Design for Film & TV and Accessibility with Michael Fitzgerald
Michael Fitzgerald will join to discuss his production design on the Disney+ movie Out of My Mind based on the 2010 novel by New York Times bestselling novelist Sharon Draper. Out of My Mind is Michael’s third feature film collaboration with director Amber Sealey. The film is Disney’s first featuring a nonverbal lead actor with cerebral palsy. The challenge for Michael was two-fold: to create realistic spaces at the character’s home, school environments and other locations, and also to make every working set completely accessible, to accommodate the numerous diverse needs for the actors in the cast and crew.
Wednesday, April 9, 2:30 pm - 4:10 pm, Conference Room 220
Cornell Campus Dance Gathering
Love to dance? Love dance history? Curious about choreography or minoring in Dance at Cornell? Join the Department of Performing and Media Arts for a campus-wide community gathering!
Wednesday, April 9, 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm, Ballet Studio (Room 320)
PMAPS: Movement and Creation Workshop with Merián Soto
Students in PMA 3350: Technology and the Moving Body I "Body and Tech" and "PMA 2300: Dance Compositions will take part in the workshop with Merián Soto. Free and open to the public.
Wednesday, April 9, 7:30 pm, Ballet Studio (Room 320)
PMAPS: "¡Fenomenal! Rompeforma 1989-1996" Film Screening
¡Fenomenal! Rompeforma 1989–1996 is a documentary about Rompeforma: Maratón de Baile, Performance & Visuales, an experimental dance and performance festival that took place in Puerto Rico from 1989 to 1996. Co-directed and produced by Merián Soto and Viveca Vázquez, Fenomenal offers a deep dive into the artistic and creative contributions of Caribbean and Latinx artists to the American avant-garde. The screening will be following by a Q&A with Merián Soto and Viveca Vázquez. Free and open to the public.
Thursday, April 10, 5:00 pm, Film Forum
Formerly known as the Centrally Isolated Film Festival (CIFF), is organized by the Phi Chapter of Delta Kappa Alpha (DKA). The festival celebrates and connects emerging filmmakers. Currently accepting submissions from students from the U.S. across various disciplines, including narrative, documentary, animation, and experimental films, with a runtime of under 20 minutes.
Saturday, April 12, 10:45 am - 6:45 pm
Sunday, April 13, 10:45 am - 6:45 pm
Film Forum
CANCELLED - Chats with the Chair
This event on April 17 has been cancelled. If anyone would like to meet with the PMA Department Chair, please reach out to Dr. Samantha Sheppard directly at sheppard@cornell.edu.
SHED: An Evening of Intermedia Dance in Three Episodes
SHED features Cornell students performing 50 Looks etcetera, a Merce Cuningham MiniEvent arranged and staged by Patricia Lent, alongside original choreography by Olive Prince and Danielle Russo in co-creation with Cornellians studying Technology in Music Performance with Kevin Ernste and Warren Cross. SHED explores cycles of technological revolution and the existential transcendence, and at times, ruin and debris that can follow.
*While this event is fully reserved, we encourage you to come to the Schwartz on the day of show for the Wait List line. Our experience is that not all reservations for free tickets are redeemed.
Friday, April 25, 7:30 pm
Saturday, April 26, 7:30 pm
Kiplinger Theatre
Voices & Visions in Black Media: A Book Talk by Beretta E. Smith-Shomade
In her book Finding God in All the Black Places: Sacred Imaginings in Black Popular Culture, Beretta E. Smith-Shomade contends that Black spirituality and Black church religiosity are the critical crux of Black popular culture. She argues that cultural, community, and social support live within the Black church and that spirit, art, and progress are deeply entwined and seal this connection.
Moderated by PMA Chair Samantha N. Sheppard.
Tuesday, April 29, 5:00 pm, Film Forum
PMA Studios presents Milkshake Kiss
A short film screening followed by talkback sessions with cast & crew
Join us as we celebrate the premiere of Milkshake Kiss, the first film by PMA Studios! This exciting new collaboration brings together students, faculty, staff and guest artists to write, produce and direct a professional movie. Don't miss this special screening as we showcase their incredible work!
Friday, May 2, 5:00 pm, Kiplinger Theatre, Get tickets