I’m coordinator of Semiofest’s series of informal online “sessions.” These events are intended not only to share best practices among, but to nurture collegiality and friendship within the global semio community.

Coming up on 26th January (at 2 pm UK time)…

SEMIOTICS & CINEMA

Semioticians have long been fascinated with cinema. From Barthes’ analysis of “Roman-ness” in Hollywood epics to commercial semioticians’ deployment of movie scenes to help clients understand aspects of contemporary culture, we can’t stop decoding what materializes on the silver screen. The participants in this session will share their enthusiasm for movies — and for movie analysis.

Get tickets (suggested donations only) at the link above.

Our sessionists:

• RAMONA LYONS is an American cultural strategist and semiotician with a multifaceted background in cultural studies, visual communication, and brand strategy. She heads LUCID SEMIOTICS, a culture and strategy consultancy. When she isn’t translating culture to help clients anticipate change, she celebrates her love for film and the visual arts through rabid media consumption and writing.

• ADELINA VACA is Head of Comparative Culture Studies in De la Riva Group, a semiotic and anthropologic initiative that dispels ready-made Latin American commonalities. She’s interested in cinema as a myth creating (or simulating) machine, and has studied its role in espionage during WW2, propaganda, and national identities

Session host:

• GABRIELA PEDRANTI holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications and a MA in Contemporary Cinema and Audiovisual Studies. She’s a lecturer at IED Barcelona and UPF. She’s worked as a communication consultant, journalist and translator/interpreter. In 2009, she launched SemioticaStudio with Ximena Tobi, where they have been recently working with series and film adaptations & development.

SEMIOFEST SESSIONS: R/D/E | BINARIES | SEMIOTICS & UX | BODY SEMIOTICS | AI & SEMIOTICS | SEMIOTICS & CINEMA | FICTIONAL DECODERS | ON COLOUR | & more.

Also see these international semio series: COVID CODES | SEMIO OBJECTS | MAKING SENSE | COLOR CODEX | DECODER | CASE FILE