How to Apply for a Stipend to Cover DVD Rental:

THE FOUNDER’S FUND FOR STUDENT RESEARCHERS

All graduate, undergraduate and high-school students in the U.S. or Canada who are undertaking supervised research into topics related to East German cinema are welcome to apply for Founder’s Fund support to rent our films on DVD. The following information will be helpful in developing projects and applying for support:

  • All inquiries and applications should be directed to Dr. Skyler Arndt-Briggs at sky@german.umass.edu. Please include “FOUNDER’S FUND” in the subject line of all emails.
  • All DEFA Film Library staff members are always happy to answer questions, advise students on our resources and help plan student research projects.

Applications for Stipends to Cover DVD Rentals are accepted on a rolling basis, but must be submitted at least three weeks before the first DVD is needed. (NB: Hundreds of DVDs are available in our collection here at UMass Amherst; but if the DVD you request must be specially ordered from Germany, it will take longer than three weeks to get it.)

Students wishing to rent DEFA films for a research project that are not available at their home institutions should send a 1-to-2 page proposal to Prof. Mariana Ivanova and Dr. Skyler Arndt-Briggs. The proposal should include:

  • Name; grade- or academic-level; institution; type of project (e.g., paper, thesis, film, etc.)
  • The name and email address of the professor or instructor overseeing the project and (where applicable) the name of the course for which you will submit the project
  • A description of the project—explain the topic, your research questions, etc.
  • A list of the films you would like to rent, with a brief indication of how they relate to your project
  • The timeframe during which you will need access to the films (DVD rentals are generally for two weeks, but can last longer if necessary.)

NB for high-school students and college undergraduates: Please also have your professor/instructor/teacher send an email to Dr. Arndt-Briggs indicating their willingness to sign our rental agreement and take responsibility for seeing that the DVDs are returned to the DEFA Film Library at the end of the rental period.

 

 

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