Christopher Hansen, M.F.A. 
Chair of the Department of Film and Digital Media | Baylor University
Waco, TX, UNITED STATES
Digital media expert and filmmaker, working on new feature and short projects
Spotlight
Media
Publications:
Documents:
Videos:
Audio/Podcasts:
Biography
Chris Hansen is an award-winning writer and director. His feature films have screened at festivals throughout the United States and Canada, have been released theatrically in Los Angeles and New York, and have been reviewed in the LA Times, The Village Voice and the LA Weekly, among many others. His films include The Proper Care & Feeding of an American Messiah, Clean Freak, Endings, Where We Started, and Blur Circle.
Chris resides in Robinson, Texas with his wife and their four daughters. You can read more about his work in film and screenwriting at his website, (http://www.hansenfilms.com).
Industry Expertise (5)
Fine Art
Research
Writing and Editing
Education/Learning
Motion Pictures and Film
Areas of Expertise (12)
Mass Communication
Screenwriting
Postproduction
Film & Video Directing
Field Production
Aesthetics
Film Industry (Business and Dealmaking)
Film History
Gender Bias in Hollywood
Film Industry
Filmmaking
Independent Films
Education (3)
Regent University: M.F.A., Script & Screenwriting, 2002
Regent University: M.A., Communication 1995
Lee College: B.A., English 1993
Affiliations (3)
- Independent Writers Caucus (WGAw) : Member
- Film Independent : Member
- Austin Film Society : Member
Links (4)
Media Appearances (7)
Hansen Named Alum of the Year for Lee’s Language and Literature Department
The Chattanoogen online
2020-11-25
Chris Hansen, professor and chair of the film and digital media at Baylor, was named the Distinguished Alumnus of the Year for the Department of Language and Literature at Lee University.
Local filmmaker among Deep in the Heart Film Festival screenings
ABC 25 Central Texas online
2020-09-24
Chris Hansen, chair and professor of film and digital media, is featured in this article after his film “Seven Short Films About Our Marriage” was screened virtually at the Deep in the Heart Film Festival. Hansen has won several awards for filmmaking and the trailer to his recent film can be found here.
How Fire, Stress and Inexperience Make the Movie Worth It for Baylor Professor, Students
Baylor Media Communications online
2018-07-20
Day 16. The set is calm, quiet. The film crew stands poised with boom mics, lighting equipment and cameras in an alley behind Dichotomy, a local coffee establishment in downtown Waco. Two men – the actors in this scene – stand in the center of the crowd, awaiting direction. “Camera ready?” a voice calls. “Ready,” calls another. “Roll sound.” “Scene 7, take one,” is heard as the clapperboard snaps in front of the camera. “Action!” the director calls. The actors launch into a rehearsed argument. The film, “Seven Short Films About (Our) Marriage,” focuses on the challenges of marriage. The idea was inspired by a friend’s social media post about reaching a milestone anniversary despite going through some difficult times, said director Chris Hansen, professor and chair of film & digital media (FDM) in Baylor’s College of Arts & Sciences. His film crew includes more than 20 students and a number of FDM faculty.
Studios find new ways to sell faith-based films
NPR's Marketplace radio
2017-04-14
Chris Hansen, M.F.A., associate professor and chair of Baylor’s film and digital media department, is a featured expert in this Marketplace story by Adriene Hill about the marketing of faith-based films. During the interview, Hansen discussed how Mel Gibson’s 2004 film “The Passion of the Christ” – which made more than $600 million worldwide – helped kick-start Hollywood’s interest in faith-based films. "Once ‘The Passion’ came out and did that kind of business, Hollywood was all over the idea of making films for this audience,” he said.
Hollywood Still Won't Admit It Has a Gender-Diversity Problem
The Atlantic print
2015-09-22
Despite relative success at Sunday night's Emmys, women are still getting the short end of the stick in Hollywood, according to Chris Hansen, M.F.A., director of the film and digital media division in Baylor's College of Arts & Sciences. The proportion of women working in prime-time television has barely changed since 1997. Hansen suggests implementation of discrete policies in order to make progress. "I think the people making decisions need to take a more conscious stance to consider at least one woman for a position," Hansen said. "It's frustrating that we live in a world where this is still necessary, but steps like that can serve to remind people of candidates they might not have otherwise remembered."
ACLU calls for Hollywood gender bias investigation
CNBC online
2015-05-12
Christopher Hansen, M.F.A., independent filmmaker and director of the film and digital media program in Baylor University’s College of Arts & Sciences, is quoted as an expert source in this article about the American Civil Liberties Union’s call for an investigation of gender discrimination in Hollywood. Hansen said there is a perception that a man who has not previously directed an action movie can adapt easily because he is a man, "but a woman can't direct a superhero movie unless she has already shown some acumen for directing action."
Recycled Stories in Movie Plots
BYU's Top of Mind with Julie Rose radio
2015-07-09
The biggest Hollywood blockbusters these days all seem to feel just a little familiar. Jurassic World and the other big hits of this summer certainly haven't escaped this trend. They’re either sequels, remakes or adaptations of a past hit movie. Why doesn’t Hollywood seem interested in trying something new these days? Independent filmmaker and Baylor University media professor Chris Hansen discusses this phenomenon with us today. Chris Hansen is an award-winning writer and director. His feature films have screened at festivals throughout the United States and Canada, and have been released theatrically in Los Angeles and New York. He is the chair of the film and digital media department in Baylor University’s College of Arts and Sciences.
Articles (1)
The Mind Behind the Mockumentary: A Filmmaker’s Approach to the Mockumentary Form
Too Bold for the Box Office: A Study in Mockumentaries (Scarecrow Press)2010 Although considered a relatively new genre, the mockumentary has existed nearly as long as filmmaking itself and has become one of the most common forms of film and television comedy today. In order to better understand the larger cultural truths artfully woven into their deception, these works demonstrate just how tenuous and problematic our collective understandings of our social worlds can be. In Too Bold for the Box Office: The Mockumentary from Big Screen to Small, Cynthia J. Miller has assembled essays by scholars and filmmakers who examine this unique cinematic form. Individually, each of these essays looks at a given instance of mockumentary parody and subversion, examining the ways in which each calls into question our assumptions, pleasures, beliefs, and even our senses. Writing about national film, television, and new media traditions as diverse as their backgrounds, this volume’s contributors explore and theorize the workings of mockumentaries, as well as the strategies and motivations of the writers and filmmakers who brought them into being. Reflections by filmmakers Kevin Brownlow (It Happened Here), Christopher Hansen (The Proper Care and Feeding of An American Messiah), and Spencer Schaffner (The Urban Literacy Manifesto) add valued perspective and significantly deepen the discussions found in the volume’s other contributions. This collection of essays on films, television programming, and new media illustrates common threads running across cultures and eras and attempts to answer sweeping existential questions about the nature of social life and the human condition.
