Imagine attending a fascinating film forum among a distinguished and varied panel of cinema legends An afternoon or evening where contemporary filmmakers from around the world Kazakhstan Turkey Macedonia Portugal Chile Argentina Egypt Cameroon Australia the Philippines South Africa Greece Portugal Sweden Japan the People s Republic of China Mexico Poland the United States Italy the United Kingdom and France gather together to discuss how they arrive at the creative choices that bring their film projects to life Can t spare the time from work or class Travel expense too great What You can t even find such a collaborative event Then imagine curling up with a good book maybe a shot of espresso in hand and becoming engrossed in the exciting and informative conversation that Elena Oumano has ingeniously crafted from her personal and individual interviews with these artists Straying far from the usual choppy question and answer format Cinema Today saves you from plowing through another tedious read in which the same topics and issues are directed to each subject over and over an experience that is like being trapped in a revolving door Oumano stops that revolving door by following a lively symposium in print format with the filmmakers words and thoughts grouped together under various key cinema topics It is as though these experts are speaking to each other and you are their audience collectively they reflect on and explore issues and concerns of modern filmmaking from the practical to the aesthetic including the process cinematic rhythm and structure and the many aspects of the media business the viewer and cinema s place in society Whether you are a movie lover a serious student of cinema or simply interested in how we communicate in today s global village through films that so profoundly affect the world Cinema Today is for you