One of the world’s most revered film makers has been appointed as a professor at the University of Aberdeen.
Master Chilean director Raoul Ruiz – who is now a Professor of Film and Modern Thought at the University - is in the Silver City this week to introduce two of his acclaimed films.
He will present his latest film Klimt - based on the scandalous life of Austrian painter Gustav Klimt, with American actor John Malkovich in the starring role – on Wednesday, February 28 in C11 of the Taylor Building from 2-5pm.
On Tuesday (February 27) Ruiz presented Hypothesis of a Stolen Painting in the same venue - the first film he made in France after leaving Chile, where he had been head of the state film office. He was forced to flee when Salvador Allende's government fell to the Pinochet dictatorship in 1973.
Ruiz's extensive filmography covers over one hundred titles, including Dias de campo(2004), Comedy of Innocence(2000), with Isabelle Huppert, and Le Temps retrouve(1998), with screen diva Catherine Deneuve.
His appointment is part of the University's ongoing Sixth Century Campaign, one strand of which aims to build a community of the world's finest academics through Sixth Century Chairs.
"It's a tremendous reflection of the current strength of Film Studies at the University that we can attract someone of the calibre of Raoul," said Professor Chris Fynsk, Head of the School of Language and Literature at the University of Aberdeen.
"He is as prolific as he is acclaimed and continues to prove himself as one of the most exciting and innovative filmmakers of recent years. We are delighted to welcome him into the School."
Professor Ruiz is spending the whole week on campus, during which time he will present his films to students and the local community, as well as meeting new colleagues. He will be making frequent visits to the University thereafter before beginning teaching in the autumn. His appointment is aimed at helping to reshape the University's film programme by joining issues of film art, production and critical thought.
Klimt (2006, 129 minutes), recently premiered to acclaim at the Glasgow Film Festival and charts Gustav Klimt's prodigious love affairs in a debauched Vienna and the many woman who inspired his development as an artist.
Hypothesis of a Stolen Painting (1979, 107 minutes) is a meditation on the subject of parallel worlds, of messages disguising themselves as accidents and coincidences revealing the hand of fate. It is also a detective story, where clues point to a conspiracy and a cover-up.