CCNY filmmaker Jerry Carlson, creator and host of CUNY-TV's "City Cinematheque," chats with Dr. Isabel Estrada, assistant professor of Spanish languages and literatures at City College, after a broadcast.
One of the longest running weekend primetime television shows in the New York area is a program showcasing international cinema developed and hosted by award-winning City College of New York filmmaker and scholar Jerry Carlson. Now in its 20th year, “City Cinematheque” airs movies onCUNY-TV Saturday and Sunday nights at 9 p.m. followed by a discussion on the social and historical value of the film with scholars, film professionals and critics.
“Early in CUNY-TV’s creation, I pitched the idea that an international city like New York deserved a show about international cinema,” said Dr. Carlson, Chair of the Department of Media & Communication Arts at City College. “And 20 years later, we’ve been true to that.”
From classics of Italian cinema and other European nations to features from Latin American, Africa and Asia, “City Cinematheque” screens a wide selection of movies that other television venues neglect. “The idea,” Dr. Carlson says, “is to bring the kind of programming to home viewers that they would find at MoMA or Lincoln Center.”
The show is one of three CUNY-TV vehicles produced by Professor Carlson. He created “Canape,” about French-American cultural relations, and the Spanish-language “Nueva York,” about the Latino cultures of New York City. The latter has garnered his team multiple New York Emmy Awards.
As an independent producer, Professor Carlson’s work includes the Showtime Network production “Dirt,” directed by Nancy Savoca and the feature film “Looking For Palladin,” directed by Andrzej Krakowski, who is also a City College professor.
About The City College of New York
Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided low-cost, high-quality education for New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. More than 16,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in: the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture; the School of Education; the Grove School of Engineering; the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, and the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership. U.S. News, Princeton Review and Forbes all rank City College among the best colleges and universities in the United States.