When looking at recent trends in the European (and worldwide) film market, one cannot escape the idea that probably no other era in film history has seen so many disruptive changes and challenges as the last three decades. These changes obviously include technological disruptions triggered by digitization—a disruption that deeply transformed the filmed entertainment business model and one that had a fundamental impact on the way films are made, distributed, exhibited, and shown, as well as how it transformed people’s relation to, and enjoyment of, films.
Since the late 1980s one saw how the post-theatrical life of a film is extended to releases via video/DVD/Blu-ray rental; video/DVD/Blu-ray sales; pay-TV and different types of free linear television; all kinds of digital audiovisual services, subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) and streaming services platforms; and so on. Although films are still watched in cinemas and other spaces with big screens (e.g. the lively film festivals landscape), consumers now see them more than ever on a multitude of screens—from TV sets, tablets, laptops, and smartphones, to other devices. Despite these significant evolutions in European cinema – and contrary to the many analyses on, for instance, the interwar period (1918-1939) or the postwar cinema period (1945-1969) – longitudinal analysis and reflections barely exist for the recent period—at least not on a pan-European level.
The aim of this theme issue is to invite authors to reflect on these recent cinematic trends in Europe from a longitudinal perspective and to go beyond the nation-state. How to make sense of the complexities of these recent shifts in the production, distribution, exhibition, consumption, and the experience of watching films in Europe? What effects have these changes had on the shared perception of European cinema? Has the relocation of the cinematic experience had an influence on the transnational circulation of European films? How can we longitudinally trace and measure the processes of Europeanization in cinema production and consumption in the last three decades?
This call for essays for Cinéma&Cie #41 special issue “Cinematic Continuities, Changes and Challenges in Europe: Reflections on Recent Shifts in European Cinema Cultures” is conceived within the scope of the Horizon 2020 project EUMEPLAT – European Media Platforms: Assessing positive and negative externalities for European Culture
Please send a 400-word abstract in English or in French, three/five bibliographical references, five keywords, and a short biographical note to daniel.biltereyst@ugent.be, elena.gipponi@iulm.it and andrea.miconi@iulm.it by the end of December 2022 January 20, 2023. Notifications of acceptance will be emailed no later than mid-January end of January 2023. If the proposal is accepted, a 6,000/7,000-word essay must be submitted for double-blind peer review by the end of May June 2023.
Call for Papers
