Betwixt and Between Brexit

If any chapter was going to hit home how volatile is World Cinema and how incredibly difficult is the task of its remapping, it would have to be the one on British cinema. We invited James Chapman to do the remapping of it pre-referendum, but the chapter came in post-it. James is Professor of Film Studies … Continue reading “Betwixt and Between Brexit”

Shifting Sands

It often seems as if some areas of the world have declared open season on cartographers, to the extent that no amount of remapping can keep pace with the changes taking place. Shifts in territories and the emergence of new cosmopolitan areas can have a dramatic effect on the cinemas of the region and, indeed, complicate … Continue reading “Shifting Sands”

Short and Sweet

“Mystification is simple; clarity is the hardest thing of all,” wrote Julian Barnes in Flaubert’s Parrot. Thanks to Mariana Liz, who is Lecturer in Film Studies in the Centre for World Cinemas in the University of Leeds, co-editor of The Europeanness of European Cinema (2014) and author of Euro-Visions: Europe in European Cinema (2015), for providing this concise … Continue reading “Short and Sweet”

World Cinema or World Cinemas?

Working from the outside in, if ‘World Cinema’ denotes the periphery containing all films made on this planet, then perhaps it is a perfunctory categorisation rendered so by its omnitude. It suggests a tight-knit patchwork of national cinemas covering the planet, when the reality is rather more ragged. As we have already seen, American, African … Continue reading “World Cinema or World Cinemas?”

The Trump Companion to World Cinema

Thank you so much. That’s so nice. Isn’t that great? Asking me to…coming on here and – and I have to tell you I’m here, and very strongly here, because I have great respect for World cinema and everybody, and tremendous respect for it. So much. World cinema doesn’t get a fair press; it doesn’t … Continue reading “The Trump Companion to World Cinema”

Another Time, An Auteur Place

In addition to countering a tendency to see World cinema in terms of its coagulation in national cinemas, The Routledge Companion to World Cinema also does battle with auteurism, that belief that the vision, input and guidance of a single creative individual (the director) is what determines the final film. It can be hard to shake … Continue reading “Another Time, An Auteur Place”

Enough of Experts

Arguments over inclusion and excusion flare when terms like ‘refugee’ and ‘migrant’ hit the headlines and tensions are exacerbated when nation-states change as a result of a coup, conflict, referenda or elections by which national identity may freeze into a bordered block when nationalism is released or melt into common areas as treaties break boundaries. … Continue reading “Enough of Experts”

Dead Deadlines

Ever watched the hurdles?  Think of them as deadlines. You’ve got your sprinters with incredible focus who effortlessly straddle them, dip and come up smiling with medals around their necks. Then you’ve got your runners-up, who jostle together to claim a meaningful position. After them at some distance comes the pack, a jumble of contributors, each … Continue reading “Dead Deadlines”

Other Screens, Another World

One of the biggest challenges to editing The Routledge Companion to World Cinema is defining what is meant by a ‘cinema’. Is it a building, a small group of films, an omnitudinous category or an abstract ideal? If I pay to watch a film in a building is that cinema? How about if I stream … Continue reading “Other Screens, Another World”

Reality Bites

There’s this line in (I think) a Woody Allen film.  It might be said by Tony Roberts in Annie Hall. He’s in television or something and when asked what he’s working on, replies – uh, I’m paraphrasing, “I’ve got this notion and I’m trying to find the time to turn it into an idea. If … Continue reading “Reality Bites”