Apparently, some people just can't get enough of Franz Kafka. From world-famous scholars to curious freshmen, Saturday's KafkaFest drew a mix of about 75 people eager to share their thoughts on the writer's works and the films he inspired. The visiting experts also participated in a conference the previous day. The panel was composed of Columbia University Professor Mark Anderson, Peter Beicken of the University of Maryland, Judith Ryan of Harvard University and Stanley Corngold, the Princeton University professor who translated the edition of The Metamorphosis used in this year's Penn Reading Project. The event was organized by Simon Richter, the chairman of Penn's German Department. The event had to be moved from Logan Hall to Vance Hall to avoid the noise from the simultaneous Rock the Vote concert at Wynn Commons. Although attendance was slightly lower than expected, KafkaFest proved extremely successful in attracting professors who are considered some of the foremost experts on the man responsible for works like The Castle and The Trial. Many could be overheard conversing in German. Hansjakob Werlen, a professor at Swarthmore College, praised the "fascinating, innovative conferences and talks." Werlen seemed impressed with Ryan's workshop, which he said offered new takes on a difficult text. Richter started the event with a game of "Kafka Jeopardy," with book prizes awarded to the winners. The workshops, which began after the registration and opening remarks, were led by faculty, scholars and graduate students on topics from "Kafka's Visual Style" to "Kafka the Bureaucrat." After a light lunch, two very different films were shown. The first, Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life, was a short and light-hearted fantasy centered on the writer's struggle to write the first sentence in The Metamorphosis. The second was a full-length, surreal mystery incorporating elements of Kafka's works. During the panel discussion following the film, the visiting scholars offered their insights on the films. Corngold pointed out that many of the images in the first film are related to Kafka's works. For example, one character, a menacing knife salesman, is appropriate because many of Kafka's works deal with dissection and sharp instruments. While comments on the first film were overwhelmingly positive, those on the second were mixed. Corngold and Beicken were very critical of the dialogue, and Anderson called the film "profoundly un-Kafkan." But Ryan called the film "a wonderful review of the vestiges that Kafka and his works have left in our cultural imagination." Richter seemed to meet his goal of providing "a multifaceted occasion" that, while including "the finest Kafka scholars in North America," was not intimidating for students. His strategy was to use cinema to appeal to popular interest, with the scholars providing additional insight. KafkaFest follows last year's Goethe Fest and will be succeeded by a similar event next year.
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