How the Front Row Center Campaign Champions the Values of Professor David Bordwell for the Future of Film Studies

David Bordwell, the Jacques Ledoux Professor Emeritus of Film Studies in Communication Arts, is well-known for his prolific career. Bordwell spent the entirety of his career in Communication Arts and was a foundational figure not just to cinema studies in the department, but to the entire world. Since his passing in February 2024, his film concepts, particularly his emphasis on poetics and neoformalism, have continued to inspire cinephiles and film scholars alike.

It is with great enthusiasm that Communication Arts announces the launch of Front Row Center: a fundraising initiative that drives the future of film scholarship and honors the values that defined Bordwell’s career and changed the way the world thinks about cinema. These values include teaching excellence, research innovation, and passion for filmgoing. The campaign is named to recognize one of Bordwell’s most well-known characteristics–his joy of sitting in the front row center seat of all theaters to get the best vantage point and view countless films.

Front Row Center is making great early strides in its fundraising goals thanks to a foundational $1 million gift from Bordwell’s wife and longtime scholarly partner, Kristin Thompson. An Honorary Associate Fellow in Communication Arts for the last 44 years and a graduate of the program, Thompson herself has built a global reputation as an influential film scholar. She notably collaborated with Bordwell on two of the most widely used film studies textbooks: Film Art: An Introduction and Film History: An Introduction. Both books, which are still in print today, have been translated into numerous languages and republished in multiple editions since their original releases.

Thompson’s gift will support Front Row Center’s teaching excellence pillar. The best teachers are the ones whose lessons and ideas stick with people long after their time in the classroom, and Bordwell proved himself to be one of the greats thanks to the approachability and thoughtfulness that defined his teaching style.

“I lived through the real heyday of this department–great classes, six tenured film professors,” Thompson said. “I would like to see it that way again. Why not try to do something to bring that back?”

Her gift is a prime example of how impactful changes in education take time to build. Over the next three years, the funds will be utilized to further research in the film areas, like building project assistant positions for graduate students or covering the costs of hosting outside film scholars for screenings and events in the department. After the gift is fully funded in 2028, Communication Arts will continue to strengthen teaching excellence in cinema studies for years to come and hopes to knight someone with the David Bordwell Professor of Film Studies.

“He was such an energetic and enthusiastic lecturer,” Thompson said. “That side of him helped people to understand what he was talking about.” Bordwell lectured innumerable times around the world and received honorary doctorates from universities in Copenhagen and Hong Kong.

Bordwell was also critical in establishing a worldwide understanding of how to study film, something he developed throughout his career as a gifted writer, publishing over 20 books and being cited in hundreds of articles. He and Thompson also produced hundreds of insightful blog entries about cinema. Investments in Front Row Center’s research innovation pillar will assist future projects, particularly for the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research, of which Bordwell was the director in the late 80s and early 2000s. This will also support colloquium programming for current graduate students and inspire new initiatives to help UW–Madison scholars remain at the forefront of film endeavors around the world. 

As for screening opportunities, Front Row Center will uplift and honor Bordwell’s passion for filmgoing by making investments in the facilities and programming initiatives for the Wisconsin Film Festival and the UW Cinematheque. These investments will be doubly impactful as they will improve Communication Arts teaching spaces and advance the department’s part in inspiring a new group of cinephiles and scholars.

The importance of carrying on Bordwell’s legacy is felt well beyond Communication Arts faculty. James Naremore, a good friend and admirer of Bordwell’s work, wrote in tribute to him, “One of the greatest of all contemporary critics, David Bordwell was a tireless champion of film art whose eloquent work on film style and narrative have transformed our understanding of the history of cinema.”

Private support has become increasingly important for public universities like UW–Madison since Bordwell was a faculty member in Communication Arts. This support has become even more critical as the University faces federal funding cuts, which have resulted in decreased funding for research projects and student opportunities in the department. Despite this, Front Row Center and Thompson’s foundational gift are both assurances that the department will continue to combat challenges and uphold the legacy of someone who helped make Communication Arts what it is today. Bordwell’s impact on our program has left a lasting impression, and support for Front Row Center will ensure his legacy will continue to thrive.  

To learn more about Front Row Center, please contact our Director of Development, Caroline Sullivan. Caroline.Sullivan@supportuw.org | (608) 572-2002