MONDAY, MARCH 4, 2013 | EDITOR ANNA ZORIA UBC remembers Mark Harris obituary >> Students, colleagues and friends mourn sudden passing of beloved film prof 8 “Many industry people enrolled in his night classes just to experience ‘The Mark Harris’ in action. He was a legend. Sometimes he would show up to class with his shirt inside out and his specs, which he often wore on top of his head, tangled in his hair.... But it didn’t matter. We all loved him.” —Andrea Brooks, graduate student in film studies “He would tell off-colour jokes in class; he would perhaps go into areas of sexual politics that other people would not go into in a university environment, but 99 per cent of the students were usually with him, because they could see that it was done with great humour and sincerity, and a desire for them to learn and to think for themselves.” —Dr. Brian McIlroy, film studies professor and Harris’s graduate degree supervisor “In a memorable lesson on thinking differently about the past, Mark enthusiastically explained our misunderstanding of Greek architecture with his signature approach. ‘Greek temples were not the austere, white, minimalist structures that we see them as today,’ he remarked. ‘In reality, the Greeks painted their temples like Surrey bikers paint their fuckwagons.’ One might be surprised to learn that this completely solidified the ideas of that week’s lecture on Chinese cinema.” —Lucas Hrubizna, undergraduate in film studies “In the mere seven weeks in which I had Dr. Harris as a professor, I learned more than I ever imagined about not only cinema, but also history, culture and philosophy. His class has made me want to pursue either a major or minor in film studies and changed how I approach my academic pursuits. I’ll miss his lectures.” —William Strausser, FIST 100 student Rhys Edwards Senior Culture Writer L ast Tuesday, UBC lost one of its most outstanding voices. Mark Harris, an associate professor in the department of film studies, passed away at the age of 62 due to a pulmonary embolism resulting from lymphoma. Only a few weeks previously, he had been teaching two undergraduate courses: FIST 100 (Introduction to Film) and FIST 430 (Studies in Auterism). The course description for FIST 430 reads: “As this course is specifically devoted to auteurism, no metteursen-scenes will be included in the non-Gallic line-up. In FIST 430A, only filmmakers with personal visions will be granted screen time.” This statement encapsulates both Harris’s career and his larger-than-life personality. He was an outspoken advocate for innovative filmmaking and uncompromising in his desire to help students recognize diverse filmic talent. Harris studied as an undergrad at Concordia University in Montreal. In 1968, he dropped out and moved to Vancouver, where he was soon hired by the Georgia Straight as a movie reviewer due to his encyclopedic knowledge of film. Over the next four decades, Harris went on to review thousands of films for the Straight , and was eventually promoted to senior film critic, a position he retained until his death. In his reviews, KIM PRINGLE ILLUSTRATION/THE UBYSSEY Harris usually focused on foreign or unknown films, helping to bring them to the eyes of a wider public. In 1992, Harris completed a MA in film studies at UBC, and subsequently began his Ph.D. in comparative literature, for which he won a Governor General’s Gold Medal. He also began to teach courses. Until his illness, Harris did not miss a single day of work. The department encouraged Harris to instruct first-year courses due to his ability to engage students with the subject of film; many students credit Harris with their decision to major in film studies. Harris was known for his freeform, eccentric and often risqué approach to lecturing. In 2004, Harris created an innovative course called The Art of Subtitling, which the department credits as having drawn attention to the often inadequate state of movie translation. On campus, his reputation preceded him; he could be recognized, with his trademark ponytail, frequenting Mahony’s or Wreck Beach. Beyond campus, Harris also attended numerous film festivals, delivered public lectures and wrote for dozens of magazines and journals. Harris’s prognosis had been optimistic, and his passing was unexpected. According to a blog post on the Georgia Straight , Harris was recorded by a nearby film crew as emergency officials tried unsuccessfully to revive him. He leaves behind his wife, Carola Ackery. U