Casablanca is “a product of its time, yes, but it’s a great film because it is also a product of all times,” writes The Atlantic’s D.B. Grady, who ponders why the cinema classic resonates with viewers seven decades after its premiere.

“Our aspiration is to educate mature filmmakers who think responsibly, with the spirit of humanism,” says Bela Tarr of his new PhD-level program at the Sarajevo School of Science and Technology. Applications open Oct. 1 for the $19,000/year course.

The Nation’s Barry Schwabsky explores the “mysterious” life and assemblage work of filmmaker and artist Bruce Conner—whose The Screen Ray is currently featured in our film exhibition, The Renegades: American Avant-Garde Film, 1960-1973.

After attempting to get the anti-Islam film The Innocence of Muslims blocked on YouTube, the Sudanese government has shut down access to the entire website. Officials say it will only be restored when Google, who owns YouTube, honors their request.

The Sundance Institute will honor film critic Roger Ebert with its Vanguard Leadership Award next June. Robert Redford says Ebert was one of Sundance’s first supporters when it was founded in 1980, and he’s remained an unfailing champion of independent cinema.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is offering—for the first time ever—electronic voting for this year’s Oscars. COO Ric Robertson says, “It’s a big project for us, since we’ve been using the same process for 84 years.”

A trove of late actor Dennis Hopper’s 1960s photographs were recently discovered by his family. The Lost Prints—”a very intimate portrayal of his thought process as an artist”—are now on display at Berlin’s Martin-Gropius-Bau museum.