Courses and Workshops

One of Hollywood’s most iconoclastic producer/director duos, the Coen Brothers, are a “cine” qua non for film lovers of all stripes. For four decades, their films have embraced, subverted and lampooned classical genres, from Westerns, musicals — even horror flicks — sometimes folded into the batter of a single film. Known for their inimitable scriptwriting talents and characters who have slipped so seamlessly into the fabric of American popular culture it’s as if they’ve always been there (Jeff Bridges as The Dude, Frances McDormand as Marge Gunderson), the Coens have built an irresistibly imaginative empire of images and sounds worthy of exploration or revisitation. Course features four films from the Coen oeuvre, emphasizing the ‘caper comedy’.

Faculty Bio

Karen Davis is Senior Film Programmer Emerita for the Mill Valley Film Festival and Professor Emerita at California State University at Monterey Bay. She has taught courses in world cinema at UC Santa Cruz, Vassar College and CSUMB.

This is an In-Person + Livestreamed Course

• Classes meet in person at the Lafayette Library and Learning Center (Community Hall) at 3491 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Lafayette
• Classes will also stream live simultaneously
• Classes will not be video recorded
• Please note: Films should be viewed in advance. Class sessions will consist of lecture, discussion and short film clips to deepen understanding of the course material
• You must be a current OLLI @Berkeley member to register. Learn about membership, including our fee assistance program.

Schedule Highlights

• Course starts on Thursday, Oct. 17, and ends on Thursday, Nov. 7
• Classes meet for 4 weeks, 2 hours per session (1–3 PM)
• All course materials will remain available to view and enjoy in Member Dashboards through December 31

Member Praise for Karen Davis

Karen is a captivating instructor! Can't wait for her next class.

Excellent teacher, very interesting films, and loved learning about talented people in film that I either knew nothing about and/or are just amazingly gifted people.

Faculty Interview

• Read an interview with Karen Davis from our archive.