A Cinema of Nonfiction

William Guynn is professor emeritus of Art (Cinema) at Sonoma State University where he taught courses in film theory and history. He holds a Ph.D. in French literature from UC Berkeley and studied film in Paris with Christian Metz and others during the heyday of semiology. He has been an invited professor in film at the Sorbonne Nouvelle and the University of Provence. The principal aim of Guynn's work is to develop new approaches to nonfiction film, including documentary and, more recently, historical film. His articles and book chapters include "The Art of National Projection: Basil Wright's 'Song of Ceylon.'" His forthcoming book entitled "Unspeakable Histories: Film and the Experience of Catastrophe" will appear this year (2016) through Columbia University Press.