178
Chapter Thirteen
Film Festival Studies:
An Overview of a Burgeoning Field
Marijke de Valck and Skadi Loist
Film festivals have been a blank spot of cinema scholarship for many years.
Although plenty of individual festival histories and anniversary books have
been published and the topic of film festivals has occasionally been
addressed in academic studies - (focusing, for example, on art or national
cinemas), the phenomenon of film festivals was, until recently, rarely the
main focus of scholarly study. In the last few years, academics have turned
to study the broad range of film festival constituencies. Their work aims to
explain, theorise and historicise film festivals and, in doing so, point to the
emergence of a new academic field in which knowledge of festivals is
considered essential for our understanding of cinema and media cultures:
film festival studies.
This article aims to give an account of the current state of film festival
research. First, we will briefly sketch out the tasks and potentials of film
festival studies. Second, we will describe how scholars have approached
film festivals as research objects, suggesting we should understand festivals
as sites of intersecting discourses and practices. Adding to this perspective
is the slightly different categorisation of existing film festival research into ten
themed clusters (some of which are divided into subsections).1 For this, we
have set out to collect the most important existing film festival publications
and compiled them into the first themed bibliography on film festival
research, which is included in the third section of this article.
2
In conclusion,
we will point to research opportunities and topics that have not yet been
dealt with or need further elaboration, and which we feel are of particular
relevance to the burgeoning field of film festival studies.
I. What is 'Film Festival Studies'? Tasks and PotentiaIs
While film festivals have long been neglected by scholars, they have
generated countless pages of non-academic writing, ranging from brief
festival reports in newspapers to glossy coffee table anniversary books. An
obvious difference between journalistic or pop-cultural accounts of film
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Chapter Thirteen
festivals and academic film festival research is that the latter by definition
goes beyond the glamour, stars and gossip of one specific festival. Festival
research, however, also differs from serious film criticism. If it is the task of
film critics to visit festivals in order to report on recent trends, point the public
to great new films and write thoughtful reviews, film festival scholars instead
work out-ot-sync with the imposing festival rhythm and offer meta-views and
frameworks for understanding festivals in broader and more specific
contexts. Bringing to bear different approaches and methods - such as
network theory, film analysis, discourse analysis, history of institutions, film
history of industry and distribution, national cinema etc. - academics have a
key part to play in clarifying the formative yet complex role of film festivals in
our cultures, industries and societies.
Drawing on different research traditions and methodologies, film festival
studies is an inherently interdisciplinary field. In this way the new field is
emblematic for the move made by film studies towards the much more
broadly defined media studies in the last two decades. Film festival studies,
then, sits somewhere halfway between these institutionalised fields. In a
clear departure from film studies, the field of film festival research takes a
cultural stUdies approach, reframing interests in film aesthetics, art and the
role of national and festivals as sites of self-identification and community
building. It acknowledges above all the political and economic context of film
production and distribution and understands film festivals both as players in
the film industry and, conversely, as events in which various stakeholders
are involved. Not surprisingly, film festival research is conducted in the
humanities as well as social sciences, most notably by film and media
scholars but also as part of organisational studies and business schools,
gender studies, history, anthropology, urban and tourism studies and various
regional studies (e.g. Asian studies). As the diversity of these researchers
bring their own toolbox to the study of film festivals, the field boasts a
remarkable variety of resources - from speech-act theory to system theory,
from historical archive material to hard business data. Depending on one's
audacity, the present organisation of the field as a loose collection of lateral
efforts can be embraced as a fertile base for chance discoveries and out-ofthe-box
thinking. On the other hand, one might also make a strong cas~
arguing that the current fragmentation of the field stands in the way of It
coming to full bloom. Dina lordanova, for example, writes: 'The study of
festivals ... remains scattered and is in need of a more systematic and
focused approach,' (2008: 4-5, section 1).3 A first step in developing such
approaches is to map what has been done in film festival research so far.
Categorising the existing film festival research is not an easy task. ~ne
way to tackle the problem of film festivals as elusive and hard~to-deflne
objects for academic study is to see them a.s sit~s of intersec~ing dlscou~es
and practices. Within the realm of a film festival different axes Intersect. First,
there is the aesthetic discourse, which treats film as an art work; second,
there is the economic continuum from production to distribution, whic~ is
organised along flows of capital; third, there is the very heart of a festival
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Film Festival Studies
which, rather than being an empty space for the display of films (cf. Hope
and Dickerson 2006a, section 10), represents the institution of the festival
itself, which is operated by people, in need of funding, and functioning
according to certain mechanisms; fourth comes the axis of reception, which
includes audiences, exhibitions, and the construction of specialised public
spheres; and fifth, there is the politics of place, in which the festival's
meaningful and often strategic relation to local or national parties is defined.
Each separate axis as well as the complex entity they constitute provides
objects for film festival researchers.
Beyond the individual festival, there is another level of analysis, which we
will call the sixth axis (see below). This covers a) the way they are connected
with each other in the network of festivals that is the international film festival
circuit with its constant flow of culture and capital (ct. de Valck 2007, section
1.1); and b) the timeframe of historical development and change taking place
in the festivals and the festival circuit.
Any categorisation or mapping of film festivals is bound to be contestable.
Likewise, festival research cannot easily be packed into neat boxes; the
different research foci often overlap and can hardly be separated if one is
interested in contextualised findings rather than broad generalised
assertions. For the bibliography in section three of this article we have taken
the idea of festivals as sites of intersecting discourses and practices as our
conceptual starting point and reworked it to fit the demands of a user-friendly
reference tool. Here we have chosen to work, bottom-up, with a
straightforward thematic ordering that follows from the topics addressed by
contemporary festival research. The bibliography, thus, is a thematic list of
literature references grouped under ten clusters that are easily recognisable:
1) Film Festivals: The Long View; 2) Festival Time: Awards, Juries and
Critics; 3) Festival Space: Cities, Tourism and Public Spheres; 4) On the
Red Carpet: Spectacle, Stars and Glamour; 5) Business Matters: Industries,
Distribution and Markets; 6) Trans/National Cinemas; 7) Programming; 8)
Reception: Audiences, Communities and Cinephiles; 9) Specialised Film
Festivals; and 10) Publications Dedicated to Individual Film Festivals. Where
needed sections are further divided into subsections. Many references,
however, fit into more than one cluster and our cross-referencing will attest
to this.
Our clustering might seem to sit squarely to the six axes - film,
economics, institution, reception, place, and the extra level of the network
and history - mentioned above. The intention, however, is not to present a
definitive mapping, which is arguably both an impossible and undesirable
goal, but to offer practical and hopefully illuminating guides to contemporary
research on film festivals. Thus, while the original on-line bibliography is
meant to disclose publications, be consulted as reference tool, and gel (new)
researchers started, the overview presented below aims to give a (meta)
introduction to the newly emerging field and is meant to be read in one piece.
For the latter objective we feel the idea of festivals as sites of intersecting
discourses and practices is more suitable. So, instead of summarising the
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arguments of the pieces gathered under the ten rubrics of the online version
of the bibliography, we will try here to bring the two levels of axes and
rubrics together in a preliminary perspective on the new field.
11. How to Approach Film Festival Studies
Axis One - Film as Work of Art
The first axis, or first way to approach film festival research, is using a film as
the focus lens. Highlighting the film as the element that guides the study of
film festivals reveals a variety of processes taking place around film festivals
that not only occur during the festival time but also before and after.
Before the festival the film is already subjected to rigid agenda-setting
processes. The first stage the film must pass through is entrance to the
festival. The film can be submitted by filmmakers or producers according to
the festival regulations, or be solicited by programmers (see the service
guides for professionals, section 5.3). Next, it has to pass the first selection
process, i.e. pass through screening committees, previewers or
programmers (ct. Krach 2003, Thomson 2003; section 7). If it fits the profile
and programming criteria of the festival, it will be placed in the programme.
Its placement - itself created in an intricate process subject to different
agendas - has an effect on reception, reviewing and the future of the film
after the festival.
The way a festival programme is curated depends on the programmer
and his/her ideas and ideals (for several accounts of individual programming
concepts of curators see section 7). Equally, programming depends on the
kind. of festival in question. For instance, queer film festivals need to
conSider more identity-based criteria such as 'a film made by, for, about, or
of interest to' the queer community (cl. June 2004, section 9.1.1), whereas a
'universal survey festival' will look for world premieres and other criteria (cf.
Klippel 2008, section 7).
Apart from describing the creative aspect, the analysis of programming
concepts gives insights into (economic) exploitation strategies by industry
and festivals, such as presenting Hollywood classics in a retrospective in
corollary with a DVD release or the transnational cross-over marketing of
blockbusters (Stringer 2003a, b; section 7). Another aspect for consideration
is the degree to which festival programming influences film criticism,
scholarship, canons and genre formations (Stringer 2003, section 1.1; June
2004, section 9.1.1).
The last selection process a film might pass at a festival is the
competition. The festival audience or a jury of film professionals will bestow
prestige on it by awarding a prize. Film festival studies have started to point
out some of the concerns regarding awards and juries, such as the
subjective nature of evaluations (Helmke 2005; Pride 2002), the effects of
182
Film Festival Studies
awards on distribution (Dodds and Holbrook 1998), and the correlation
between taste and mediation in high art (Shrum 1996, all section 2).
Axis Two - Economic Continuum: From Production to Distribution
While the first axis ~f festival analysis focuses on film as art and the festival's
core task of ~creenln~. them, the second axis focuses on film as product and
t~e way festlv~ls faCilitate 'the business' of cinema. The spotlight is on th
direct economic context of the film. e
Film ~estivals are a ~Iatf?rm for and of the film industry. This becomes
~ery obvIous when con~ldenn.g o.ne of the organisations with a very strong
Influence on th~ .festival circuIt: the International Federation of Film
Produce.rs Associations (FIAPF). Since 1933, the FIAPF has represented the
economiC, legal and regulatory interests of film and TV production industries
who are pa~ of the organisation. It also regulates (accredited) film festivals
and t.he business conducted there and decides the status of major festivals,
keeping the number of so-called A-level festivals limited to assure the
hierarchy on the circuit (cl. Fehrenbach 1995, section 1.2; de Valck 2007,
section 1.1). The business conducted at their adjoined markets is a
significant part of A-festivals (Berlin: European Film Market; Cannes: Marche
du Film). Thus, on the business side, festivals are measured by their industry
attendants at the market, their sales rates, and the production deals closed
(see section 5).
When attempting to answer the question as to why film festivals exist,
discussions tend to gravitate toward the problem of distribution. Film festivals
provide several 'answers' to this problem. Gideon Bachmann (2000, section
5.2) distinguishes between 'wholesale' and 'retail' events: the former act
primarily as markets where sales agents sell films, the latter are essentially
exhibitors (correspondingly Mark Peranson distinguishes two models:
'business festivals' and 'audience festivals' [Peranson 2008, section 1.1 D·
With the increasing pressure on art-house exhibition and a simultaneous
boom in mid-size and smaller film festivals, the events themselves have
become an alternative distribution method.
While festivals function as an alternative distribution circuit, they are also
part of the marketing strategies for traditional distribution. In the era of the
'attention economy', film festivals are increasingly used by the industry as
platforms to create a buzz (Le. media discourse), around films which helps
their box office in theatrical release. Daniel Dayan pOinted out that film
festivals exist in at least two versions: the visual festival of films and the
'written festival' created by print material produced by and about the festival
(Dayan 2000, section 1.1). The strategy of creating attention is, for instance
used for blockbuster premieres at big festivals, serving both the festival and
the (Hollywood) producer: the festival gets attention for premiering the film,
preferably in attendance of stars (see section 4), while the film gets a stamp
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Chapter Thirteen
of artistic approval for being shown at a festival - often out of competition
and thus without running the risk of bad reviews (Stringer 2003a, section 7).
Smaller films without theatrical release lined up can raise their cultural
capital through the value-adding process at festivals (cl. de Valck 2007).
Each selection process (mentioned above) adds value to a film. This way a
small film might be able to cross over from the alternative (yet closed)
distribution network that is the festival circuit into (theatrical) distribution. If
one festival is not enough, a chain of screenings at festivals might be used
to build up momentum slowly (depending on marketing strategy and regional
market characteristics).
Festivals have been expanding their operations constantly from
exhibition to distribution, facilitating sales and networking. In the last
decades, festivals have moved even further into the film business; now they
also provide training for filmmakers (e.g. Berlinale Talent Campus) and
production funds (e.g. Frameline's Completion Fund wants to 'bring new
work to under-served audiences' in the LGBT community and 'especially
encouragers] applications by women, people of color and transgender
persons'; Rotterdam's Hubert Bals Fund for young filmmakers in
disadvantaged countries [cf. Loist 2008, section 9.1.1.; Steinhart 2006,
section 5.1]). This way festivals stop being mere exhibitors of current
productions and instead become active players in the film industry.
Axis Three - Festival as Institution
While axis two considered the film industry as a part of the festival
(business), axis three looks at the festival as an institution. As the business
side has already made clear, the festival is not an empty space for the
display of films but rather an organisation with its own (business) agenda. At
the same time, there are a number of interest groups (e.g. film professionals,
sponsors, politicians) whose various demands and expectations the festival
has to meet. Thus, in axis three the festival is approached on the level of
people/actors.
On a personal level, festivals are special meeting spaces: different
groups - e.g. film professionals, stars and everyday cineastes - can meet and
talk about film in a way that is not possible anywhere else. Focusing on the
interest groups or attendees of a festival, one can distinguish ~roups
involved with and interested in the festival: 1) industry represental1ves of
various fields such as a) film production, b} press, c) distribution, d) .unions
and professional associations, e) exhibition, f) training and educatlo.n; 2)
festival guests; 3) event and festival organisers; 4) regular audience
members (cl. Reichel-Heldt 2007: 55-65, section 1.1). These gr~ups already
represent a wide range of interests and demands toward the festival.
A different group from the people attendi~g a fe~tival ar~ the, people
working in various positions for the festival(s) In question: festival directors,
selection committee members, events managers andprogrammers,
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Film Festival Studies
development and press people are 'specialised intermediaries', to borrow a
term from museum studies (cf. Stringer 2003: 19; section 1.1). Analysis of longterm
developments and movements of people between festivals shows the
significance of individual careers as well as historical shifts in the
professional history of the circuit, such as the rise of the programmer in the
1960s (cf. de Valck 2007, section 1.1).
While the development of major festivals is often closely linked to
geopolitics (cf. Turan 2002, section 1), one should not forget that only a very
small fraction of the approximately 1,000 festivals are FIAPF-accredited Afestivals.
Thus, the analysis of festivals as institution needs to consider a
variety of festivals and their specific contexts (cl. Evans 2007, section 1.1).
The founding strategy, for instance, of the Berlinale as a cultural bastion and
market hub of the West in the Cold War climate is quite different from the
engagement of cineclubs and adult education centres (Volkshochschule),
which resulted in festivals such as the Northern German regional festival
Emden-Aurich-Nordemey (with a small team of part-time staff). Similarly, the
gay liberation movement resulted in an all-volunteer structure of the
Hamburg Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (cl. Reichel-Heldt 2007, section 1.1).
The variety of organisational structures (volunteer, for-profit and hybrids)
and cultural/political contex1s also results in different expectations from
players in the field {industry, state/city funders, etc.} and a variety of funding
strategies in a climate of declining resources (state-funding of arts or
regional economics, private sponsorship, community-funding) (e.g. ReichelHeldt
2007, section 1.1; Gamson 1996, Rhyne 2007, both section 9.1.1)
Axis Four - Reception: Audiences and Exhibition
The approach of the fourth axis centres on reception. Although various
actors have already been mentioned in axis three (understanding festivals
as meeting places for various stakeholders and interest groups), the primary
activity and function of film festivals is to screen films. These are targeted
specifically at professionals in press screenings and private video boolhs as
well as to the general public, which effectively means that all festival visitors
are constituted as members of an audience.
Several important issues are foregrounded when we approach the
international film festival circuit as a network of exhibition.
Firstly, the specific reception environment created by film festivals is
largely defined by the event nature of the festival. While cinema attendance
is often bemoaned as declining, festival attendances across-the-board are
reported as going up. The opportunity to see something first, or something
that cannot be seen elsewhere, something unexpected - and maybe even
the added possibility of seeing a film star - brings people 10 the festival (ct.
Reichel-Heldt 2007, section 1.1; cl. de Valck 2005, section 8). Likewise, Ihe
spectacular setting of the festival is believed 10 be beneficial to the buying-
185
Chapter Thirteen
and-selling of films and festival buzz is a key ingredient in the production of
festival hits and the discovery of noteworthy films (see axis two).
Secondly, for specialised festivals, the general feeling of belonging to a
group, a cinephile community, is heightened by identity cues. Audience
members of horror genre festivals (cf. Stringer 2008, section 8) or queer film
festivals, to name just two examples, share a common interest that goes
beyond film (or even a genre of film) in general. They meet with like-minded
viewers, sometimes the sub-cultural community, when congregating at a
festival screening. Such a specific context adds to the special nature of the
reception setting. In a queer film festival, this might even result in critical,
communal counter-readings of films (cf. Searle 1996, section 9.1.1). In a
general sense, setting and programming structure of the event can induce a
focused form of reception ('discovering form, inferring meaning') which
brings about 'new cinemas' (Nichols 1994, section 8). In film festival
research, specialised festivals are often used to narrow a research focus
and select case studies. There are different categories according to which
festivals can be grouped, and it is important to be aware that our choices of
categorisation inform the writing of festival history.
Thirdly, the issue of programming, already discussed under axis one, is
also intimately connected to the issue of reception. Curators imagine a
certain programme and by doing so envision a way to highlight, promote and
contextualise a film. The programme, however, is also dependent on the
audience and its actual reception. Film festivals offer a framework which
generates certain audience expectations; with their programme festival
curators (often) try to encourage the active reception of the audience (cf.
Klippel 2008: 10, section 8). Some scholars and curators would even go so
far as to say that programming means not (only) programming films but
'programming the public' (Fung 1999, section 9.1.1). They point to the fact
that programming directly influences the constituency of the audience although
no one can foresee what audience reaction and outcome a certain
programme will have (see bibliography section 8 on reception, e.g. Stringer
2008).
Finally, a whole different angle on reception issues concerns the analysis
of the spatial aspects of film reception at festivals. What are we to make of
exhibition practices at festivals that move beyond the traditional cinema and
expand to include installations and online 'screenings'?
Axis Five - Politics of Place
Related to the spatial configuration of exhibition contexts is ~he broad~r
range of spatial aspects of film festivals. Space an.d place are so I~portan! In
festivals' functioning that they form a separate aXIs of the academiC framing
of festivals. This approach borrows from work done in social geography and
follows the 'spatial turn' in the humanities. Jan~t Ha~bord, f?r e~ample, !ooks
at festivals as 'spaces of flow' and asserts that the film festival IS a particular
186
Film Festival Studies
manifestation of the way that space is produced as practice'. She goes on to
explain that 'film festivals have since their inception ... entwined film culture
within the organisation and materialisation of national and regional space'
(Harbord 2002: 61; section 3). More specifically, we should understand
festival space as being made up of complex dynamics of local and global
forces, always defined by the physical place in which the event is organised
but at the same time embedded in an international circuit. Building on
insights from globalisation theory, this interplay is understood as a public
arena in which uneven power relations are acted out (Stringer 2001, section
3). For example, international film festivals in developing countries are
criticised for marketing (exotic) national cinemas to Western audiences while
neglecting to support local industries (et. Diawara 1993, section 6.3).
Another research focus that follows from globalisation theory in general
and tourism/urban studies in particular is festivals' relation to the city. Spatial
aspects such as city planning and city policies concerned with tourismrelated
sponsorship are scrutinised in relation to festivals (cl. Stringer 2001,
section 3; Elsaesser 2005, section 1.1). The city, much more than the nation,
is the spatial entity that has come to define festivals' identity and functional
logics, in particular since the 1980s. A question that is often posed in relation
to festivals' contemporary spatial configuration is whether it is possible to
strengthen community cultural development and cultural tourism
simultaneously (cf. Derrett 2000, 2003; section 3). In other words, can
festivals be tailored to local community interests while at the same time
stimulating urban development? At the large film festivals in particular,
programmes tend to have a strong international character and therefore
attract cosmopolitan visitors who want to celebrate and consume world/art
cinema rather than screen programmes that express regional distinctiveness
and cater to the local population.
Finally, looking at how space is used at the lowest level of festival
organisation can shed light on the ways film festivals foster an atmosphere
of exclusivity and staged rituals that add value to films and filmmakers.
Axis Six - The Film Festival Circuit and History
Moving beyond the level of individual festivals, the phenomenon of film
festivals at a more general level can be approached as an interconnected
network with specific historical developments. If one wants to understand
any single festival organisation or edition, it is essential to frame its
functioning in connection to the logics of the international film festival circuit,
since no festival can exist outside the influence sphere of the festival
network and this network is more than the sum of its parts. Topics that come
to the fore when looking at festivals from the angle of a cultural
network/system include the existence of a festival calendar, the flows of
capital and culture through the circuit, the task division between different
(types of) festivals, mutual relations of competition and emulations as well as
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Chapter Thirteen
rankings of prestige and influence (see bibliography section 1 on film festival
theory).
Finally, any theorisation of film festivals needs to be contextualised. The
international film festival circuit is in constant transformation, responding and
adapting to developments in aligned areas, such as the film industry, as well
as to larger trends, like globalisation, digitisation and commercialisation
today.
Ill. Film FestiVal Research: Thematic, Annotated Bibliography
1. Film Festivals: The Long View
The books, dissertations and articles in this category are characterised by an
interdisciplinary orientation and, in this way, contest the inherent complexity
of the film festival 'object', which is in fact multiple objects in one. Taking a
meta-perspective on film festivals, these studies frame and discuss the
various festival constituencies (on which separate studies are included under
categories 2-10 below). Some do so by presenting one or more case studies.
Questions that are addressed include: How do festivals function? Can
festivals' historical development be divided into phases? Which 'models'
drive their institutionalisation? What is their raison d'etre? Which actors are
involved? What relations with Hollywood exist? And what critical
perspectives can help us understand the diverse range of festival practices?
Also, in,cluded in this category, directly below, are important early
publications that approach the film festival phenomenon from a more
anecdotal or journalistic angle.
Bachmann, Gideon (1976) 'Confessions of a Festival Goer', Film Quarterly,
29,14-17.
Gregor, Ulrich (2001) 'Filmfestivals: Letzte Bastionen der Filmkultur?', in
J.a~obi Reinhold (ed.) Medien, Markt, Moral: Vom ganz wirklichen,
fiktlVen und virtuelfen Leben. Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder, 61-65.
Turan, Kenneth (2002) Sundance to Sarajevo: Film Festivals and the World
They Made. Berkeley: University of California Press.
1.1 Film Festival Theory
As one of the first critical studies of film festivals, Bill Nichols' article 'Global
Image Consumption in the Age of Late Capitalism' takes up a central
concern of film festival research: the local/global dynamics. 'Never only or
purely local, festival films nonetheless circulate.. in large part, :-vith a cachet
of locally inscribed difference and globally aSCribed commonallty. They both
attest to the uniqueness of different cultures and specific filmmakers and
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Film Festival Studies
affirm the underlying qualities of an "international cinema'" (Nichols 1994:
68). M~dia. anthropologist Daniel Dayan introduced a second recurring
theme In his study of the Sundance Film Festival: the engagement of
distinctive groups with diverse interests. He described the festival as a set of
?iverg~nt performa~ces (by filmmakers, distributors, festival organisers,
Journalists, the audience etc.) and argues that it is not limited to visual
display but that it is above all a 'verbal architecture ... made up of different
versions, relaying different voices, relying on different sources of legitimacy'
(Dayan 2000: 52). Several studies have attempted to make festivals'
versatility understandable. JUlian Stringer (2003) explored film festivals as
institutions, festival nations, festival cities, festival films and festival
communities in his dissertation, developing theoretical approaches to fit
each new angle. Kenneth Turan (2002, section 1) and Marijke de Valck
(2007) tackled the diverse festival phenomenon with case studies that
respectively take geopolitical, business and cultural/aesthetic perspectives.
Thomas Elsaesser (2005) and Janet Harbord (2002, section 3) offer
valuable insights into festivals' temporal and spatial dimensions. Other
threads running through all festival theories include the festival network as
alternative. distribution system, core-periphery relations, festival
programming as agenda setting, value addition and distinction, spectacle
and the festival as media event. '
Dayan, Daniel (2000) 'Looking for Sundance: The Social Construction of a
Film Festival', in Ib Bondebjerg (ed.) Moving Images, Culture and the
Mind. Luton: University of Luton Press, 43-52.
de Valck, Marijke (2003) 'Nave objevenf Evropy. Historicky pi'ehled
fenomenu filmv9ch festivalu [The Reappearance of Europe. A Historical
Overview of the Film Festival Phenomenon]'. IIuminace, 15, 1, 31-51.
_ (2007a) 'As Varia Faces dos Festivais de Cinema Europeus [The
Multip~e ~ace~ of Europ,e~n Film Fe~tivals]', in Allessandra Meleiro (ed.)
A Industrta Cmematograflca Internac/onal: Europa. Sao Paulo: Escrituras
Editora, 213-41.
_ (2007b) Film Festivals: From European Geopolitics to Global Cinephilia.
Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
Elsaesser, Thomas (2005) 'Film Festival Networks: The New Topographies
of Cinema in Europe', in European Cinema: Face to Face with Hollywood.
Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 82-107.
Ethis, Emmanuel (2001) Aux Marches du Palais: Le Festival de Cannes
sous le Regard des Sciences Sociales. Paris: La Documentation
Frangaise.
_ (2002) Avignon, le Public Reinvente: le Festival sous le Regard des
Sciences Sociales. Paris: La Documentation Frangaise.
Evans, Owen (2007) 'Border Exchanges: The Role of the European Film
Festival', Journal of Contemporary European Studies, 15, 1, 23-33.
lordanova, Dina (2008) 'Editorial (Special Issue on Film Festivals)', Film
International, 6, 4, 4-7.
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Chapter Thirteen
Lutkehaus, Nancy C. (1995) 'The Sundance Film Festival', Visual
Anthropology Review, 11, 2, 121-29.
Nichols, Bill (1994) 'Global Image Consumption in the Age of Late
Capitalism', East-West Film Journal, 8, 1,68-85.
Peranson, Mark (2008) 'First You Get the Power, Then You Get the Money:
Two Models of Film Festivals', Cineaste, 33, 3, 37-43.
Porton, Richard (ed.) (2009) Dekalog 3: On Film Festivals. London:
Wallflower Press.
Reichel-Heldt, Kai (2007) Filmfesfivals in Deutschland: Zwischen
kulturpolitischen Idealen und wirtschaftspolitischen Realitaten. Frankfurt
am Main: Lang. Stringer,
Julian (2003) 'Regarding Film Festivals', unpublished PhD thesis,
University of Indiana.
1_2 Political Aspects of Film Festivals (History)
Our understanding of today's film festivals and the contemporary
international film festival circuit is tied to our knowledge of festival histories.
Geopolitical interests held the first wave of (European) film festivals in a tight
grip until the mid-1960s. The articles and books in this subcategory analyse
certain parts of festival history in detail, such as the Fascist influence over
the Venice Film Festival in the late 1930s (de Valck 2007, section 1.1), the
Cold War agenda of the Berlin Film Festival (Fehrenbach 1995) and
politically informed (programming) practices in Eastern Europe (Iordanova
2006; Karl 2007; K5tzing 2007a, b; Moine 2007).
Fehrenbach, Heidi (1995) 'Mass Culture and Cold War Politics: The Berlin
Film Festival of the 1950s', in Cinema in Democratizing Germany:
Reconstructing National Identity after Hitler. Chapel Hill/London:
University of North Carolina Press, 234-59. .
lordanova, Dina (2006) 'Showdown of the Festivals: Clashing
Entrepreneurships and Post-Communist Management of Culture', Film
International, 4, 5, 25-37.
Karl, Lars (2007) 'Zwischen politischem Ritual und kulturellem Dialog: Die
Moskauer Internationalen Filmfestspiele im Kalten Krieg 1959-1971', in
Lars Karl (ed.) Leinwand zwischen Tauwetter und Frost: Der
osteuropaische Spiel- und Dokumentarfilm im Kalten Krieg. Berlin:
Metropol, 279-98.
K5tzing, Andreas (2007a) 'Filmfestivals als hislorische Quelle', Deutschland
Archiv: Zeitschrift fur das vereinigte Deutschland, 40, 4, 693-99.
_ (2007b) 'Zeigen oder nicht zeigen? Das "Prinzip der ~elbstno~in.ierung"
sozialistischer Filme auf der Leipziger Dokumentarfilmwoche, In Lars
Karl (ed.) Leinwand zwischen Tauwetter und t=,rost: Der osteuropfiische
Spiel- und Dokumentarfilm im Kalten Krieg. Berlin: Metropol, 299-316.
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Film Festival Studies
Moine, Caroline (2007) 'Blicke Ober den Eisernen Vorhang: Die
internationalen Filmfestivals im Kalten Krieg 1945-1968', in Lars Karl
(ed.) Leinwand zwischen Tauwetter und Frost: Der osteuropiiische Spielund
Dokumentarfilm im Kalten Krieg. Berlin: Metropol, 255-78.
Stein, Gabby (1997) 'Censorship and the Film Festival', Cinema Papers, 118,
58-9.
1_3 General Academic Studies on Festivals (Not only Film Festivals)
Of gt'eat value to the study of film festivals is the extensive body of literature
on festivals that has been produced from an anthropological and sociological
perspective. A small selection is included below. Festivals were first studied
to gain an understanding of so-called primitive people. Jean Duvi9!1aud
(1976) argues that the classic analysis of festivals goes back to Emile
Durkheim, who distinguished between the sacred and profane and wrote
about 'collective effervescence' as the supreme moment of the solidarity of
collective consciousness (Duvignaud 1976: 13). In the overview below,
Alessandro Falassi presents a morphology of festivals with 10 ritual acts
(rites) as building blocks for actual festivals (1987: 3-6). However, there is
not one 'essence of the festival' common to all civilisations, as Duvignaud
argues, save, perhaps, that all are in a way antagonistic (1976: 18-19).
Particularly relevant to film festival research is his observation that some
festivals revolve around prestige and competition rather than tribal
disorganisation and are related to economic activity rather than mythical
fascinations with nature. When we turn to studies of modern festivals then,
recent work specifically addresses the effects of commercialisation and
globalisation. Montserrat Crespi-Valbona and Greg Richards, for example,
argue that the 'focus [in recent studies on festivalisation] has often been on
the replacement of local, traditional culture by globalised, popular culture,
and the transition from "ritual" to "spectacle'" (2007: 106).
Alien, Johnny, William O'Toole, lan McDonnell and Robert Harris (2005)
Festival and Special Event Management. Milton: Wiley.
Crespi-Valbona, Montserrat and Greg Richards (2007) 'The Meaning of
Cultural Festivals: Slakeholder Perspectives in Catalunya', International
Journal of Cultural Policy, 13, 1, 103-22.
Duvignaud, Jean (1976) 'Festivals: A Sociological Approach', Cultures, 3,1,13-
28.
Falassi, Alessandro (1987) Time Out of Time: Essays on the Festival.
Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
Harris, Neil (2007) 'Festival Culture, American Style', in Casey N. ~Iake (e?)
The Arts of Democracy: Art, Public Culture, and the State. Philadelphia:
University of Pennsylvania Press, 11-29.
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Chapter Thirteen
MacAloon, John J. (ed.) (1984) Rite, Drama, Festival, Spectacle: Rehearsals
toward a Theory of Cultural Performance. Philadelphia: Institute for the
Study of Human Issues.
2. Festival Time: Awards, Juries and Critics
The exceptional temporal frame of festivals has been theorised extensively
from an anthropological and sociological perspective. In the introduction to
Time Out of Time: Essays on the Festival, Alessandro Falassi describes how
'festival time imposes itself as an autonomous duration, not so much to be
perceived and measured in days or hours, but to be divided internally by
what happens within it from its beginning to its end' (Falassi 1987: 4; section
1.3). In addition, film festival research has addressed the defining temporal
characteristics that are more specific to film festivals, such as festivals' use
of exceptional temporality to add value and set agendas (Elsaesser 2005, de
Valck 2007, both section 1.1), as well as the festival calendar, which defines
the relation of festivals to one another, positions them in the circuit, and sets
the expiration date at a one-year maximum. More specifically, our
understanding of the way these characteristics shape film festivals needs to
be advanced with close analyses of festival prizes, festival juries and the role
of critics. The articles in this category flesh out some of the main concerns,
such as the subjective nature of evaluations (Helmke 2005, Pride 2002), the
effects of awards on distribution (Dodds and Holbrook 1998), and the
correlation between taste and mediation in high art (Shrum 1996).
Dodds, John C. and Morris B. Holbrook (1998) 'What's an Oscar Worth? ~n
Empirical Estimation of the Effects of Nominations and Awards on MOVie
Distribution and Revenues', Current Research in Film: Audiences,
Economics and Law, 4, 72-88.
Helmke, Julia (2005) Kirche, Film und Festivals: Geschichte sowie
Bewertungskriterien evangelischer und 6kumenischer Juryarbeit in den
Jahren 1948 bis 1988. Erlangen: CPV Christliche-Publizistik-Verlag.
Nuchelmans, Andre (2004) 'De Loden Last van het Gouden Kalf: Het belang
van filmprijzen voor regisseur en acteur', Boekman, 60, 115-20.
Pride, Ray (2002) 'The Prize Patrol: The Inexact Science of Festival Juries
and Critics Awards', The Independent: Film and Video Monthly, 25, 1,
26-9.
Ranvaud, Don (1985) 'Don Ranvaud and Festivals', Filmnews, 15, 9, 10-11.
Rosenbaum, Jonathan (2000) 'Trafficking in Movies: Festival-~opp'in~ in the
Nineties', in Movie Wars, How Hollywood and the Media Limit What
Films We Can See. London: Wallflower, 143-73.
Scot!, Robert Dawson (1999) 'Bridging the Cultural Gap: How Art~
Journalists Decide What Gets onto the Arts and Entertainment Page,
Critical Quarterly, 41, 1, 46-56.
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Film Festival Studies
Shrum, Wesley Monroe Jr. (1996) Fringe and Fortune: The Role of Critics in
High and Popular Art. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
3. Festival Space: Cities, Tourism and Public Spheres
In recent years, research on tourism has contributed significantly to spatial
analyses of cultural festivals. There are two perspectives: the 'arts and urban
development' perspective sees festivals 'as a catalyst for urban renewal,
attracting tourists and capital investments, enhancing a city's image and
creating new jobs' (Crespi-Valbona and Richards 2007: 106; section 1.3),
the 'liveable cities' perspective stresses how communities can appropriate
commoditised festival events for their own purposes, such as selfidentification
and developing a local sense of community and place. Julian
Stringer argues that festivals market both global similarity and conceptual
difference, often using local attractions to compete in the contemporary
global space economy. Taking the unevenly differentiated power relations
between nations and regions into consideration, he regards the international
film festival circuit as 'a series of diverse, sometimes competing, sometimes
cooperating public spheres' (Stringer 2001: 138).
Derrett, Ros (2000) 'Can Festivals Brand Community Cultural Development
and Cultural Tourism simultaneously?', in John Alien, Robert Harris, Leo
K. Jago and A. J. Veal (eds) Events Beyond 2000: Setting the Agenda:
Proceedings of Conference on Event Evaluation, Research and
Education Sydney July 2000. Sydney: Australian Centre for Event
Management, 120-29. On-line. Available
HTTP: http://www.utsydney.cn/business/acem/pdfs/Events2000_finaIvers
ion.pdf (18 February 2009).
_ (2003) 'Festivals & Regional Destinations: How Festivals Demonstrate a
Sense of Community & Place', Rural Society, 13, 1,35-53.
_ (2004) 'Festivals, Events and the Destination', in lan Yeoman, Martin
Robertson, Jane AIi-Knight, Siobhan Drummond and Una McMahonBeattie
(eds) Festival and Events Management: An International Arts and
Culture Perspective. Amsterdam: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, 32-
51.
Gold, John Robert and Margaret M. Gold (2004) Cities of Culture: Staging
International Festivals and the Urban Agenda, 1851-2000. Aldershot:
Ashgate Publishers.
Harbord, Janet (2002) 'Film Festivals: Media Events and the Spaces of Flow',
in Film Cultures. London: Sage, 59-75.
Prentice, Richard and Vivien Andersen (2003) 'Festivals as Creative
Destination', Annals of Tourism Research, 30, 1, 7-30.
Shapiro, Michael J. (2007) 'The New Violent Cartography', Security Dialogue,
38,3,291-313.
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Chapter Thirteen
Stringer, Julian (2001) 'Global Cities and International Film Festival
Economy', Mark Shiel and Tony Fitzmaurice (eds) Cinema and the City:
Film and Urban Societies in a Global Context. Oxford: Blackwell, 134-44.
4. On the Red Carpet: Spectacle, Stars and Glamour
Many critics have written about the glamour of film festivals. Often they
denounce the 'hoopla' as distracting from the cultural significance of the
festival's programming (Sklar 1996). On the other hand, many try to weaken
the persistent myth of festival folly set in Cannes in the 1950s by focusing on
the mundane realities of attending film festivals (Stapleton and Robinson
1983). As media events, film festivals are of great interest to different
people: young girls longing to become famous (starlets), Hollywood
companies looking to launch their next blockbuster (Jungen 2005, 2008),
and filmmakers in search of an audience and (international) career.
International film festivals contribute to the creation of a transnational and
cosmopolitan film culture, and to achieve this end they use spectacle, stars
and glamour (Schwartz 2007).
Jungen, Christian (2005) 'Oer Journalist, ein Gesch§.ftspartner der Studios:
Starinterviews als Mittel der Filmpromotion', Vinzenz Hediger and Patrick
Vonderau (es.) Demnachst in Ihrem Kino: Grundlagen der Filmwerbung
und Filmvermarktung. Marburg: Schuren, 297-312.
_ (2008) Hollywood in CanneS: Die Geschichte einer Hassliebe, 1939-
2008. Marburg: Schuren.
Marshall, William (2005) Film Festival Confidential. Toronto: McArthur & Co.
Schwartz, Vanessa (2007) 'The Cannes Film Festival and the Marketing of
Cosmopolitanism', in It's So French! Hollywood, Paris and the Making of
Cosmopolitan Film Culture. Chicago/London: University of Chicago
Press, 56-99.
Sklar, Robert (1996) 'Beyond Hoopla: The Cannes Film Festival and Cultural
Significance', Cineaste, 22, 3, 18-20.
Stapleton, John and David Robinson (1983) 'All the Fun of the Festivals',
Films & Filming, 345, 14-16.
5. Business Matters: Industries, Distribution and Markets
Although film festivals' core business is screening films~ m~ny fes~ivals a~so
facilitate 'the business' of cinema. Arguably, the big international film
festivals - Cannes, Berlin, Toronto etc. - owe a great deal of Iheir
prestigious and influential position in the festival. network to th~ success of
their market activities and their services to the Industry. Art Cinema, world
cinema and independent cinema increasingly depend on the nodes of the
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festival network for financing, sales, promotion and traffic (Biskind 2004,
Perren 2001).
In the subcategories listed below a variety of pUblications is collected.
The diversity of audiences addressed by these works - academic,
professional and institutional/governmental - points at a widespread
recognition of the vital role film festivals play in media industries worldwide.
Biskind, Peter (2004) Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance, and the
Rise of the Independent Film. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Perren, Alisa (2001) 'Sex, Lies and Marketing: Miramax and the
Development of the Quality Indie Blockbuster', Film Quarterly, 55, 2, 30-9.
5.1 Markets and Funds
The writings in this subcategory look at film festival markets and funds from
a predominantly cultural perspective. Cultural diversity (instead of economic
productivity and efficiency) is therefore at the heart of these reflections and
analyses of the business side of festivals. Most authors display a concern for
an inclusive cinema culture: stretching from first world national cinemas to
cinema in developing countries, keeping standards of artistic quality high,
and offering space for aesthetic experiments, adversary views or lifestyles,
and marginal voices.
Chin, Oaryl (1997) 'Festivals, Markets, Critics: Notes on the State of the Art
Film', Performing Arts Journal, 19, 1, 61-75.
Chin, Daryl and Larry Quails (1998) 'To Market, 10 Market', Performing Arts
Journal, 20, 1, 38-43.
(2001) 'Open Circuits, Closed Markets: Festivals and Expositions of Film
-and Video', Performing Arts Journal, 23, 1, 33-47.
Cretan, Laurent (1997) Cinema et MarcM. Paris: Armand Colin/Masson.
Fallaux, Emile, Malu Halasa and Nupu Press (eds) (2003) True Variety:
Funding the Art of World Cinema. Rotterdam: International Film Festival
Rotterdam.
Perry, Simon (1981) 'Cannes, Festivals and the Movie Business', Sight &
Sound, 50, 4, 226-32.
Quails, Larry and Daryl Chin (2004) 'Three Blind Mice: Fairs, Festivals,
Expositions', Performing Arts Journal, 78, 62-71. . .
Scharres, Barbara (1990) 'Still Number One? The Cann~s International Film
Festival and Market', The Independent: Film and VIdeo Monthly, 13, 8,
16-19.
Sleinhart, Daniel (2006) 'Fostering International ~inema:. The Rotterdam
Film Festival, CineMart, and Hubert Bals Fund, Medlascape, 2, 1-13.
On-line. Available . . ,
HTTP: http://www.tft.ucla.edu/mediascape/Spnng06_Fostennglnlernatlon
alCinema.pdf (18 February 2009).
195
Chapter Thirteen
5.2 Distribution
When attempting to answer the question as to why film festivals exist,
discussions tend to gravitate to the problem of distribution. In a competitive
market driven by commercial objectives and moulded by the aggressive
strategies of major film companies, it is difficult for non-mainstream films to
find theatrical distribution. Film festivals provide several 'answers' to this
problem.
Bachmann, Gideon (2000) 'Insight into the Growing Festival Influence: Fest
Vet Discusses "Wholesale" and "Retail" Events', Variety, 28 August. Online.
Available
HTTP: http://www.variety.com/articleIVR1117785609.html
(18 February 2009).
Burgos, Sergi Mesonero (2008) 'A Festival Epidemic in Spain', Film
International, 6, 4, 8-14.
Gaines, Christian (2008a) 'State of the Fest - Part One: Do Festivals
Matter?', The Circuit - Blog on Variety.corn. On-line. Available
HTTP: http://www.variety.com/blog/1390000339/post/1980031998.html
(18 February 2009 [20 August 2008]).
_ (2008b) 'State of the Fest - Part Two: Things Gotta Change', The
Circuit - Blog on Variety.com. On-line. Available
HTTP: ht1p:llwww.variety.com/blog/1390000339/postl50032005.html (18
February 2009 [21 August 2008]).
lordanova, Dina (2008) 'The Festival Circuit', in Budding Channels of
Peripheral Cinema: The Long Tail of Global Film Distribution. Blurb.com,
25-32.
5.3 Service Guides for Professionals
For newcomers to the international film festival circuit, festivals are
notoriously difficult places to find your way around. For these 'virgin'
professionals, service guides are published that offer 'strategies for survival'
or disclose 'festival secrets'. For those aiming to set up their own film festival,
there are also several guides on the market.
BFI (2001) How to Set Up a Film Festival. Eldridge, Pippa and Julia Voss.
London: BFI. On-line. Available
HTTP: http://www.bfi.org.uklfilmtvinfo/publications/pub-rep-briefIpdf/howfilmfest.pdf
(18 February 2009).
(2002) At a Cinema Near You: Strategies for Sustainable Local Cinema
-Development. Baker, Robin, J. Ron Inglis and Julia Voss. London: BFI.
On-line. Available
HTTP: http://VVWW.bfi.org.uklfilmtvinfo/publications/pub-repbrieflpdf/acny-all.pdf
(18 February 2009).
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Film Festival Studies
Craig, Benjamin (2004) Sundance: A Festival Virgin's Guide - Surviving and
Thriving in Park City at America's Most Important Film Festival. London:
Cinemagine Media.
_ (2006) Cannes: A Festival Virgin's Guide - Attending the Cannes Film
Festival for Filmmakers and Film Industry Professionals. London:
Cinemagine Media.
Falco, Sidney (1988) 'Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Film
Festivals (But Were Afraid to Ask)', Films & Filming, 406, 22-3.
Gaydos, Steven (ed.) (1998) The Variety Guide to Film Festivals: The
Ultimate Insider's Guide to Film Festivals around the World. New York:
Berkley Publishers Group.
Gore, Chris (1999) The Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide. Los Angeles:
Lone Eagle.
Greuling, Matthias (2004) Cannes, Venedig, Berlin: Die gro8en Filmfestivals:
Ein Servicebuch fur Filmer und Medienvertreter. Norderstedt: Books on
Demand.
Holland, Christopher (2009) Film Festival Secrets: A Handbook for
Independent Filmmakers. Austin: Stomp Tokyo. On-line. Available
HTTP: http://www.filmfestivalsecrets.com/dddownload
(18 February 2009).
Langer, Adam (2000) The Film Festival Guide: For Filmmakers, Film Buffs,
and Industry Professionals. Chicago: Chicago Review Press.
Nowlan, Robert A. and Gwendolyn Wright Nowlan (1988) An Encyclopedia
of Film Festivals. Greenwich: JAI Press.
Stolberg, Shael (1998) International Film Festival Guide. Toronto: Festival
Products.
Tanner, Laurie Rose (2005) Creating Film Festivals: Everything You Wanted
to Know but Didn't Know Who to Ask. San Francisco: Big Horse Inc.
5.4 Studies / Reports Related to Film Festival Research
This final subcategory in the business section contains institutional reports,
overviews and directories of national or pan-national (EU) organisations that
may be relevant to film festival research. The publications are predominantly
quantitative in nature, listing numbers of festival admissions, accredited
festivals and other data.
Aas, Nils Klevjer (1997) 'Flickering Shadow: Quantifying the European Film
Festival Phenomenon', On-line. Available HTTP:
ht1p:l/www.obs.coe.int/online-publication/expert/00001262.html.en (18
February 2009 [3 January 2003]).
AG Kurzfilm e.V. - Bundesverband Deutscher Kurzfilm (2006) Kurzfilm in
Deutschland: Studie zur Situation des kurzen Films. Michael Jahn,
Christina Kaminski and Reinhard W. Wolf (eds). Dresden: AG Kurzfilm
e.V. On-line. Available
197
Chapter Thirteen
HTTP: http://www.ag-
kurzfilm.de/shared/doc/upload/page/2121page_de_212.pdf
(18 February 2009).
British Council (ed.) (1998) Directory of international film and video festivals
1999 and 2000. London: British Council.
FIAPF (2008) FIAPF Accredited Festivals Directory I L'Annuaire des
Festivals Accredites par la FIAPF: 2008. International Federation of Film
Producers Associations (FIAPF). On-line. Available
HTTP: http://www.fiapf.org/pdfl2008FIAPFDirectory.pdf
(18 February 2009).
Internationale Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen (1997) Die Zukunft der Filmfestivals
- neue 8edingungen in der Informationsgesel/schaft: Ideen, Vorschliige,
Diskussionen. Protokoll und Dokumentation der Konferenz 27-28 April
1997. Angela Haardt (ed.) Oberhausen.
Samlowski, Wolfgang (ed.) (2008) International Guide Film-Video-Festivals
2009. Berlin: Vistas.
6. Trans/National Cinemas
As the concept of the nation state has increasingly come under attack,
cinema studies have slowly adopted the approach and strive to think through
the concept and different possibilities of the trans/national in cinem~.
Thomas Elsaesser (2005, section 1.1) emphasises the different ways In
which film production as well as film reception transcend borders and, thus,
calls for an account of the transnational in film.
Film festivals are the platforms where new national waves can be
discovered (cf. Nichols 1994, section 8). Or as Owen Evans suggests, film
festivals (in Europe) are 'loci of cultural dialogue between Hollywood and the
rest of the world's cinema' (2007: 24; section 1.1). What needs to be taken
into account when stating this is the power difference that exists between the
(Western) film festival circuit and national cinema/'world cinema' (Stringer
2001, section 3). In the last few years, scholars have started to analyse how
film festivals (in the West) have served as cultural taste-makers for global
cinema and had a significant influence on global film markets. This influence
continues until today.
We have subdivided section 6 Trans/National Cinema in order to map
out the different regions that have been studied in this context and try to
account for the differences that have been highlighted in the respective
pieces.
6.1 Europe
As the cradle of film festivals, Europe's en~ounter .with trans/n~~ion~1
relations between film and their showcases for (mter)natlOnal competition IS
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Film Festival Studies
as old as the festival phenomenon. Lucy Mazdon investigates the role of the
Cannes festival as a transnational space (2006) and its relationship to
French cinema (2007). The meaning of Cannes for German film (Frundt and
Lepel 1987) or Hollywood (Jungen 2008, section 4) has also been
scrutinised. Several historical studies with a focus on film history during the
Cold War era give insight into the history (of the study) of European film.
They examine the way it was discussed across borders at certain
international film festivals which did not conform to the general division of
Western and Eastern bloc politics/art (Karl 2007, K6tzing 2007, Moine 2007,
all in section 1.2). A special focus in this history is the analysis of trans- or
intra-national discussions of German film on either side of the Wall.
Felsmann, Klaus-Dieter (2002) 'Eine feste Bank: DEFA-Kinderfilme in 25
Berlinale-Jahren', in DEFA-Stiftung (ed.) apropos Film 2002: Das
Jahrbuch der DEFA-Stiftung. Berlin: Bertz, 190-98.
Hofstede, Barl (2000a) 'Hoofdstuk 4: Filmfestivals en het Succes van
Nederlandse films in het Buitenland', in De Nederlandse Cinema
Wereldwijd: De Internationale Positie van de Nederlandse Film.
Amsterdam: Boekmanstudies, 101-29.
_ (2000b) In het Wereldfilmste/sel: Identiteit en Organisatie van de
Nederlandse film sedert 1945. PhD thesis. Delft: Eburon.
FrOndt, Bodo and Bernd Lepel (1987) Traume unter goldenen Palmen /
Dreams beneath the Golden Palms: Der deutsche Film aut dem
Internationalen Filmfestival in Cannes / German Films at the International
Film Festival in Cannes. (Biligual edition), in Eberhard Junkersdorf and
Deutsche Export-Union des Deutschen Films e.v. Munchen (eds).
Ebersberg: Ed. Achteinhalb.
Kuhlbrodt, Dietrich (2005) 'DEFA-Filme in Oberhausen: Ruckblick auf fOnfzig
Jahre', in DEFA-Stiftung (ed.) apropos Film 2005: Das Jahrbuch der
DEFA-Stiftung. Berlin: Bertz+Fischer, 106-18.
Mazdon, Lucy (2006) 'The Cannes Film Festival as Transnational Space',
Post Script, 25, 2, 19-30.
_ (2007) 'Transnational "French" Cinema: The Cannes Film Festival', Modem
and Contemporary France, 15, 1, 9-20.
6.2 Asia
The pieces in this section look at several aspects of the transnational nature
of the film festival circuit in relation to Asia and Asian cinema. Soyoung Kim
highlights the political and c~ltural context of th~ ~me~gence of several film
festivals in South Korea m the 1990s. Klm s piece offers a great
contextualisation for further analyses by SooJeong Ahn who looks at the
development of PIFF and its strategic moves to establish a hub for Korean
cinema, as well as Asian cinema in general a.nd what it has undertaken to
enter a global market (Kim 1998: 183, section 9.1; Ahn 2008a, b; Ahn
199
Chapter Thirteen
forthcoming). Several other scholars have taken a look at the impact the
international film festival circuit has had on the acknowledgement, praise
and economic exploitation of Asian film (cl. Stringer 2001, section 3), with
perspectives on Chinese Cinema (Zhang 2002), Hong Kong Cinema (Wong
2007), and Taiwan Cinema (Wu 2007).
Ahn, SooJeong (2008a) 'Re-imagining the Past: Programming South Korean
Retrospectives at the Pusan International Film Festival', Film
International, 6, 4, 24-33.
_ (2008b) 'The Pusan International Film Festival 1996-2005: South
Korean Cinema in Local, Regional, and Global Context', unpublished
PhD thesis, University of Nottingham. On-line. Available
HTIP: http://etheses.nottingham.ac.uklarchive/00000513/01/AHN_ethes
es_all.pdf (18 February 2009).
_ (2009) 'Building up Asian Identity: The Pusan International Film Festivai
in South Korea', in Ruby Cheung with D. H. Fleming (eds) Cinemas,
Identities and Beyond. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars
Publishing.
_ (forthcoming) 'Placing South Korean Cinema into Pusan Internation~1
Film Festival: Programming Strategy in the Global/Local Context', In
Chris Berry, Darren Aoki and Nicola Liscutin (eds) What a Difference a
Region Makes: Cultural Studies and Cultural Industries in North-East
Asia. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
Tan, Ye and Zhang Yimou (2000) 'From the Fifth to the Sixth Generation:
Interview with Zhang Yimou', Film Quarterly, 53,2, 2-13.
Wong, Cindy Hing-Yuk (2007) 'Distant Screens: Film Festivals and the
Global Projection of Hong Kong Cinema', in Gina Marchetti and Tan See
Kam (eds) Hong Kong Film, Hollywood and New Global Cinema: No Film
is an Island. London/New York: Routledge, 177-92.
Wu, Chia-chi (2007) 'Festivals, Criticism and International Reputation of
Taiwan New Cinema', in Darrell William Davis and Ru-shou Robert Chen
(eds) Cinema Taiwan: Politics, Popularity, and State of the Arts.
Abingdon: Routledge, 75-91.
Zhang, Yingjin (2002) 'Chinese Cinema and Transnational Cultural Politics:
Reflections on Film Festivals Film Productions, and Film Studies', in
Screening China: Critical Inte:Ventions, Cinematic Reconfigurations, and
the Transnational Imaginary in Contemporary Chinese Cinema. Ann
Arbor: Center for Chinese Studies, 15-42.
6.3 Africa
This section assembles articles focusing on ~frican .cinema.and ~fric.an film
festivals and their place within the international film festival circulI. The
publications listed here focus on the two oldest film festivals on the Afri?an
continent: Les Journees Cinematographiques de Carthage (JCC) and Festival
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Film Festival Studies
Panafricain du Cinema et de la Television de Ouagadougou (FESPACO).
These two festivals, both taking place biannually in alternating years, have
showcased and promoted African film regionally and internationally. This
seemingly positive outcome, however, also has a drawback for the African
film market, which lacks an infrastructure, argues Manthia Diawara (1993).
With the raised profile of African cinema, the marketing of these films
became the dominant purpose of the larger (i.e. mostly Western) festival
system. With better connections to established (Western) film markets,
African (and other) film festivals held in Europe and North America provide
filmmakers with a more important/effective film production and distribution
infrastructure than that of their home countries in Africa. This in, turn, leaves
the former spokes-festivals for African film, Carthage and Ouagadougou, in
a dilemma: they are unable to feature prestigious new African productions
(Diawara 1993, 1994; Ruoff 2008; cf. Turan 2002: 65-80; section 1).
Bachmann, Gideon (1973) 'In Search of Self-Definition: Arab and African
Film at the Carthage Film Festival (Tunis)" Film Quarterly, 26, 3, 48-51.
Diawara, Manthia (1993) 'New York and Ouagadougou: The Homes of
African Cinema', Sight & Sound, 3, 11, 24-6.
(1994) 'On Tracking World Cinema: African Cinema at Film Festivals',
-Public Culture, 6, 2, 385-96.
Ruoff, Jeffrey (2008) Ten Nights in Tunisia: Les Journees
Cinematographiques de Carthage', Film International, 6, 4, 43-51.
6.4 The Middle East
The relationship between the film festival circuit and cinema from/in the
Middle East has seldom been studied. Bill Nichols developed his study of
reception patterns at film festivals and the 'discovery' of new cinemas using
the example of Iranian cinema (Nichols 1994, section 1.1; Nichols 1994,
section 8). Jeffrey Ruoff has described the Carthage Film Festival as a
festival focused on the promotion of Arab (and African) film (Ruoff 2008,
section 6.3). Azadeh Farahmand (2002, 2006) has presented a very detailed
analysis. Farahmand takes the increasing attention paid to Iranian cinema
since the 1990s as a starting point to examine how socio-economic factors
and institutional politics, especially those facilitated through international film
festivals contribute to the production and elevation of films and natio~al
cinema. Key issues she touches on are the problem of censorship,
(inter)national fina.nc.ing Of. film productions through the film festival circuit,
and political negotiations via cultural exchange (Farahmand 2002).
Farahmand, Azadeh (2002) 'Perspectives on Recent (Internatio.nal A.cciaim
for) Iranian Cinema', in Richard Tapper (ed.) The Ne,": Iranian Cmema:
Politics, Representation and Identity. London: LB. Tauns, 86-108.
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Chapter Thirteen
_ (2006) 'At the Crossroads: International Film Festivals and the
Constitution of the New Iranian Cinema', unpublished PhD thesis,
University of California, Los Angeles.
6.5 South America
We found only one article explicitly dealing with the transnational quality of
film festivals in relation to South America. Julianne Burton stresses the
impact of the political, left wing Italian film festival in Pesaro on the
circulation of South American cinema in Europe and North America in her
1975 festival report.
Burton, Julianne (1975) 'The Old and the New: Latin American Cinema at
the (Last?) Pesaro Festival', Jump Cut: A Review of Contemporary
Media, 9, 33-5. On-line. Available
HTTP: htlp://www.ejumpcut.org/archivelonlinessays/JC09folder/PesaroR
eport.html (18 February 2009).
7. Programming
The vast majority of the pieces addressing the issue of programming
assembled here are written from a practical point of view. Some aim to
explain the deciSion-making processes at work during the act of
programming behind the scenes of film festivals (Krach 2003; Thomson
2003). Others, often written by curators themselves, explicate the ideas and
ideals of curators (Czach 2004; Givanni 2004; Haslam 2004; Marks 2004;
Sandlos 2004; Schulte-Strathaus 2004, 2008; Straayer and Waugh 2005;
section 9.1.1). Further pieces are interviews with curators (Gramann 2008;
Gregor and Gregor 2008; Han and Morohoshi 2004; Noli Brinkmann 1990)
or biographies (Heijs and Westra 1996). Beyond the specifics of the act of
programming, other, more general concerns are addressed. The context of
film programming and film reception plays an important role for programmers
(Lehrer 1999).
Armatage, Kay (forthcoming) 'Fashions in Feminist Programming', in Corinn
Columpar and Sophie Mayer (eds) (Un)Making the Cut: Feminism,
Filmmaking, Fluidity. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.
Czach, Liz (2004) 'Film Festivals, Programming, and the Building of a
National Cinema', The Moving Image, 4,1, 76-88.
Givanni, June (2004) 'A Curator's Conundrum: Programming "Black Film" in
1980s-1990s Britain', The Moving Image, 4,1,60-75.
Gramann, Karola (2008) "'Man nehme ...": Ein Gesprach mit Heide
SchIOpmann', in Heike Klippel (ed.) The Art of Programming': Film,
Programm und Kontext. MOnster: LIT, 127-40.
202
Film Festival Studies
Gregor, Erika ~nd Ulrich Gregor (2008) 'Every Time the Curtain is Going Up,
We are Hoping and Longing ... Talking to Dlna lordanova', Film International,
6,4,72-6.
Han, Ju Hui Judy and Marie K. Morohoshi (1998) 'Creating, Curating, and
Consuming Queer Asian American Cinema', David L. Eng and Alice Y.
Hom (eds) Q & A: Queer in Asian America. Philadelphia: Temple
University Press, 81-94.
Haslam, Mark (2004) 'Vision, Authority, Context: Cornerstones of Curation
and Programming', The Moving Image, 4, 1, 48-59.
Heijs, Jan and Frans Westra (1996) Que Le Tigre Oanse: Huub Bals een
Biografie. Amsterdam: Otlo Cramwinckel.
Klippel, Heike (ed.) (2008) The M of Programming': Film, Programm und
Kontext. MOnster: LIT.
Krach, Aaron (2003) 'Unlocking the Secret of the Screening Committee', The
Independent: Film and Video Monthly, 26, 3, 44-6.
Lehrer, Jeremy (1999) 'But Will It Play in Peoria: Two Festival Curators
Assess the Audience for Experimental Media Today', The Independent:
Film and Video Monthly, 22, 6, 28-31.
Marks, Laura U. (2004) 'The Ethical Presenter: Or How to Have Good
Arguments over Dinner', The Moving Image, 4, 1,35-47.
Noli Brinkmann, Christine (1990) 'The Art of Programming: An Interview with
Alf Bold, July 1989', Millennium Film Journal, 23/24, 86-100.
Sandlos, Karyn (2004) 'Curating and Pedagogy in the Strange Time of Short
Film and Video Exhibition', The Moving Image, 4, 1, 17-33.
Schager, Nick (2006) 'The Short Story at Sundance: Behind the Scenes with
the Short Film Programmers', The Independent: Film and Video Monthly,
29,1,32-5.
Schulte-Strathaus, Stefanie (2004) 'Showing Different Films Differently:
Cinema as a Result of Cinematic Thinking', The Moving Image, 4, 1, 1-16.
_ (2008) 'Andere Filme anders zeigen: Kino als Resultat filmischen
Denkens', in Heike Klippel (ed.) The Art of Programming': Film,
Programm und Kontext. Munster: LIT, 89-103.
Stringer, Julian (2003a) 'Neither One Thing nor the Other: Blockbusters at
Film Festivals', in Julian Stringer (ed.) Movie Blockbusters. London/New
York: Routledge, 202-13.
_ (2003b). 'Raiding the Archive: Film Festivals and the Revival of Classic
Hollywood', in Paul Grainge (ed.) Memory and Popular Film. Manchester:
Manchester University Press, 81-96.
Thomson, Patricia (2003) 'Clutterbusters: Programmers at Five Leading
Festivals Expound on Heady Process of Selecting Films', Variety, 18
August. On-line. Available
HTIP: http://www.variety.com/articleNR1117891042.html
(18 February 2009).
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Chapter Thirteen
8. Reception: Audiences, Communities and Cinephiles
Curators imagine a certain programme and by doing so envision a way to
highlight, promote and contextualise a film. The programme, however, is
also dependent on the audience and its actual reception. Film festivals offer
a framework which generates certain audience expectations; with their
programme festival programmers (often) try to encourage the active
reception of the audience (ct. Klippel 2008: 10). Some scholars and curators
would even go so far as to say that programming means not (only)
programming films but 'programming the public' (Fung 1999, section 9.1.1).
They point to the fact that programming directly influences the constituency
of the audience - although no one can foresee what audience reaction and
outcome a certain programme will have (Stringer 2008).
Armatage, Kay (2008a) 'Screenings by Moonlight', Film International, 6, 4,
34-40.
_ (2008b) 'Sidebar: Traveling Projectionist Films', Film International, 6,4,41-
2.
de Valck, Marijke (2005) 'Drowning in Popcorn at the International Film
Festival Rotterdam? The Festival as a Multiplex of Cinephilia', in Marijke
de Valck and Malte Hagener (eds) Cinephilia: Movies, Love and Memory.
Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 97-109.
Frohlick, Susan (2005) "That Playfulness of White Masculinity": Mediating
Masculinities and Adventure at Mountain Film Festivals', Tourist Studies,
5, 2, 175-93.
Nichols, Bill (1994) 'Discovering Form, Inferring Meaning: New Cinemas and
the Film Festival Circuit', Film Quarterly, 47, 3,16-30.
Rosenbaum, Jonathan (2003) 'Sampling in Rotterdam', in Jonathan
Rosenbaum and Adrian Martin (eds) Movie Mutations: The Changing
Face of World Cinephi/ia. London: British Film Institute, 52-60.
Stringer, Julian (2008) 'Genre Films and Festival Communities: Lessons
from Nottingham, 1991-2000', Film International, 6,4,53-9.
9. Specialised Film Festivals
The vast proliferation of film festivals and the differentiation of film markets
contribute to the development of specialised film festivals. There are a
number of categories according to which these festival~ can be group~d.
The choice of our categories here is founded on basIc elements Which
differentiate films and thus their showcase festivals as such. There are, for
instance festivals for long or short films, for features or documentaries, for
animatio~ or experimental films. Yet there are also oth~r qualities that cl~ster
films by way of a special programming profile of a festival: there are festivals
that choose films not only according to their length, format or style, but rather
according to a theme or context. Furthermore, not all specialised festivals
204
Film Festival Studies
have been studied yet. Thus, our categorisation is influenced by the texts
available.
9.1 Identity-Based Festivals
The largest group of available research on specialised film festivals is
dedicated to identity-based film festivals. Thus, this is the group located at
the top of the list. As becomes visible in this list, there has been great
interest in queer film festivals as well as women's film festivals. It is not
surprising that this is the case considering the identity debates in feminist
and queer activism and theory. Many of the pieces on queer film festivals
are not only interesting to researchers of the queer theories or sub-cultural
fields. Rather, these pieces can contribute to general discussions of the
relationships between film festivals and their cinephile communities,
between reception contexts and programming.
Apart from women's and queer film festivals, there exists a wide range of
other identity-based film festivals - which have not (often) been specifically
studied as such. There are pieces, however, that deal with examples such
as the Jewish film festival (Galliner 2004, section 10), Black American film
festivals, Asian (American) film festivals etc.
Kim, Soyoung (1998) "'Cine-Mania" or Cinephilia: Film Festivals and the
Identity Question', UTS Review: Cultural Studies und New Writing, 4, 2,
174-87.
_ (2003) 'The Birth of the Local Feminist Sphere in the Global Era: "TransCinema"
and Yosongjang' , Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, 4, 1, 10-24.
9.1.1 LGBT/Queer Film Festivals
As identity-based festivals, queer film festivals have a specific relationship to
the audience they are catering to. More specifically, most of these festivals
have had a strong connection to the political and social movement behind
the lesbian and gay/queer agenda and try to maintain this relationship
between cultural event and political framework (Jusick 2004; Stryker 1996;
Ommert and Loist 2008). Because of this history, queer film festivals have a
strong tradition of a nuanced critical inquiry into the interconnections of
cultural event management, community politics, nation state politics, funding
and marketing strategies, organisational structures (cl. Rhyne 2007, Zielinski
2008).
Resulting from this is a cluster of pieces that deal with the relationship
between film festivals and communities, focusing on the mutual formative
processes between the two actors (festival and co.mmunity/audi.ence)
(Gamson 1996; Rich 1993, 1999), and constantly updating the question of
necessity (Schulman 1994). A strongly connected issue is the representation
205
Chapter Thirteen
of the group/subculture in films of the so-called (New) Queer Cinema and at
the LGBT/queer film festivals (Rich 1993, 1999; Hohenberger and Jurschik
1994; Stryker 1996; SiegeI 1998; Woitschig 2001; Loist 2008).
In the general film festival discussion, a neglected field (except for the
attempt by Stringer 2008) is the concept of the (counter) public sphere. This
has been discussed in much detail in relation to LGBT film festivals (Rich
1993; S. Kim 1998; dossier ed. by Patricia White 1999; S. Kim 2003;
Perspex 2006; Gorfinkel 2006; J. Kim 2007; Ommert and Loist 2008). As an
extension of this discussion, special aspects such as spatial elements of
queer film festival have been scrutinised (Brooke 1998, Zielinski 2008).
Becker, Edith (1992) 'The New York Lesbian and Gay Experimental Film
Festival', Jump Cut: A Review of Contemporary Media, 37. On-line.
Available
HTTP: http://www.ejumpcul.org/archive/onlinessays/JC37folder/NYexptl
GayLesFest.html (18 February 2009).
Berry, Chris (1999a) 'Bangkok's Alternative Love Film Festival Raided: Chris
Berry interviews Sopawan Boonimitra', in Intersections: Gender, History
and Culture in the Asian Context, 2. On-line. Available
HTTP: http://intersections.anu.edu.au/issue2/Sidebar.html
(18 February 2009).
_ (1999b) 'My Queer Korea: Identity, Space, and the 1998 Seoul Queer
Film & Video Festival', Intersections: Gender, History and Culture in the
Asian Context, 2. On-line. Available
HTTP: http://intersections.anu.edu.au/issue2/Berry.html
(18 February 2009).
Brooke, Kaucyila (1998) 'Dividers and Doorways: How to (De)Personalize Your
Lifestyle with Architectural Details', Jump Cut: A Review of
Contemporary Media, 42, 50-7. On-line. Available
HTTP: http://www.ejumpcul.org/archive/onlinessays/JC42folder/Dividers
Doorways.html (18 February 2009).
Clarke, Eric O. (1999) 'Queer Publicity at the Limits of Inclusion', GLQ: A
Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies, 5, 1, 84-9.
Fung, Richard (1999) 'Programming the Public', GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian
and Gay Studies,S, 1, 89-93.
Gamson, Joshua (1996) 'The Organizational Shaping of Collective Identity:
The Case of Lesbian and Gay Film Festivals in New York', Sociological
Forum, 11,2, 231-61.
Gorfinkel, Elena (2006) 'Wet Dreams: Erotic Film Festivals of the Early
1970s and the Utopian Sexual Public Sphere', Framework, 47, 2,59-86.
Grundmann, Roy (1992) 'Politics Esthetics Sex: Queer Films and Their
Festivals', Cineaste, 19, 1, 50-52, 62.
Hohenberger, Eva and Karin Jurschick (1994) 'As Women, as People of
Calor. as Lesbians ... : Diskussionen und Filme Ober race und gender bei
den Gay and Lesbian Film Festivals in New York und San Francisco
1993', Frauen und Film, 54/55, 149-64.
206
Film Festival Studies
June, Jamie L. (2004) 'Defining Queer: The Criteria and Selection Process
for Programming Queer Film Festivals', CultureWork, 8, 2. On-line.
Available
HTTP: http://aad.uoregon.edu/cultureworklculturework26.html (18
February 2009).
Jusick, Stephen Kent (2004) 'Gay Art Guerrillas: Interview with Jim Hubbard
and Sarah Schulman', in Matt Bernstein [Mattilda] Sycamore (ed.) That's
Revolting! Queer Strategies for Resisting Assimilation. Brooklyn: Soft
Skull Press, 39-58.
Kim, Jeongmin (2007) 'Queer Cultural Movements and Local Counterpublics
of Sexuality: A Case of Seoul Queer Films and Videos Festival', trans.
Sunghee Hong, Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, 8, 4, 617-33.
Loist, Skadi (2008) 'Frameline XXX: Thirty Years of Revolutionary Film: Der
Kampf um queere Reprasentationen in der Geschichte des San
Francisco International LGBT Film Festival', in Ulla Wischermann and
Tanja Thomas (eds.) Medien - Diversitat - Ungleichheit: Zur medialen
Konstruktion sozialer Differenz. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag fOr
Sozialwissenschaften, 163-81.
McWilliam, Kelly (2007) '''We're Here All Week": Public Formation and the
Brisbane Queer Film Festival', Queensland Review, 14, 2, 79-91.
Olson, Jenni (2002) 'Film Festivals', glbtq: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian,
Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture. On-line. Available HTTP:
http://www.glbtq.com/arts/film_festivals.html(18 February 2009 [19
November 2004]).
Ommert, Alek and Skadi Loist (2008) 'Featurinf/ interventions: Zu queerfeministischen
Reprasentationspraxen und Offentlichkeiten', in Celine
Camus, Annabelle Hornung, Fabienne Imlinger, Milena Noli and Isabelle
Stauffer (eds) Im Zeichen des Geschlechts: Repriisentationen KonsfnJkiionen-lnterventionen.
K6nigsteinlTaunus: Ulrike Helmer, 124-40.
Peach, Ricardo (2005) 'Queer Cinema as a Fifth Cinema in South Africa and
Australia', unpublished PhD thesis, Sydney University of Technology.
Perspex (2006) 'The First Asian Lesbian Film and Video Festival in Taipei
Celebrates a New Form of Social Activism', Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, 7,
3,527-32.
Rhyne, Ragan (2007) 'Pink Dollars: Gay and Lesbian Film Festivals and the
Economy of Visibility', unpublished PhD thesis, New York University.
Rich, B. Ruby (1993) 'Reflections on a Queer Screen', GLQ: A Journal of
Lesbian and Gay Studies, 1, 1, 83-91.
(1999) 'Collision Catastrophe Celebration: The Relationship between
-Gay and Lesbian Film Festivals and Their Publics', GLQ: A Journal of
Lesbian and Gay Studies, 5, 1, 79-84.
Said, Roiya Zahara (forthcoming 2009) 'The De-Fusion of Good Intentions:
Notes on Outfesl's Queer of Color Film Festival', GLQ: A Journal of
Lesbian and Gay Studies, 15, 3.
207
Chapter Thirteen
Schulman, Sarah (1994) 'What is the Role of Gay Film Festivals?', in My
American History: Lesbian and Gay Life during the ReaganlBush Years.
New York: Routledge, 253-55.
Searle, Samantha (1996) 'Film and Video Festivals: Queer Politics and
Exhibition', Meanjin, 55, 1,47-59.
_ (1997) Queer-ing the Screen: Sexuality and Australian Film and
Television. SI. Kilda: Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM).
Siegel, Marc (1997) 'Spilling out onto Castro Street', Jump Cut: A Review of
Contemporary Media, 41,131-36. On-line. Available
HTTP: http://www.ejumpcul.org/archive/onlinessays/JC41 folder/OnCastr
oStreel.html (18 February 2009).
Straayer, Chris and Thomas Waugh (eds) (2005) 'Queer Film and Video
Festival Forum, Take One: Curators Speak Out', [Contributions by
Michael Barrett, Charlie Bourdeau, Suzy Capo, Stephen Gutwilig, Nanna
Heidenreich, Liza Johnson, Giampaolo Marzi, Dean Olto, Brian Robinson,
and Katharine Setzer] GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies, 11, 4,
579-603.
(eds) (2006) 'Queer Film and Video Festival Forum, Take Two: Critics
-Speak Out', [Contributions by Juan A. Suarez, Yves Lafontaine, Yau
Ching, M. R. Daniel, Jose Gatti, Joel David, Ragan Rhyne, and B. Ruby
Rich] GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies, 12, 4, 599-625. .
_ (eds) (2008) 'Queer Film and Video Festival Forum, Take Three: Artists
Speak Out', [Contributions by Bill Basquin, Maureen Bradley, Q. Allan
Brocka, Olivier Ducastel, Su Friedrich, Barbara Hammer, Jacques
Martineau, and Onir] GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies, 14, 1,
121-37.
Stryker, Susan (1996) 'A Cinema of One's Own: A Brief History of the San
Francisco International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival', in Jenni Olson (ed.)
The Ultimate Guide to Lesbian & Gay Film and Video. New York:
Serpent's Tail, 364-70.
White, Patricia (ed.) (1999) 'Queer Publicity: A Dossier on Lesbian and Gay
Film Festivals', GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies,S, 1, 73-93.
Worrschig, Britta Madeleine (2001) 'Raus aus dem Klischee: TransgenderFilmfestivals
seit 1996 als selbstbestimmte Darstellung trans- und intersexueller
Lebensformen', in Paul M. Hahlbohm and Till Hurlin (eds) Querschnitt - Geoo.er
Studies: Ein interdisziplinarer Blick nicht nur aut Homosexualitiit. Kiel: Ludwig,
182-201.
Zielinski, Ger (2008) 'Furtive, Steady Glances: On the Cultural ~olitics ~f
Lesbian and Gay Film Festivals', unpublished PhD thesIs, McGl1I
University, Montreal.
9.1.2 Women's Film Festivals
Considering the impact feminist activism and theory has had on film theory, it
is surprising that women's film festivals have not been analysed as much as,
208
Film Festival Studies
say, queer film festivals. The pieces listed here focus on different issues
related to women's film festivals. As is true for festival journalism in general,
several articles provide a review of the films shown at these festivals. They
are interspersed with descriptions and analyses of the structures, concepts
and practices of the festivals (Brauerhoch 1987, Hammer 1998, Hiller and
Holy 1976, Huang 2003). Beyond these historical snapshots of the women's
film festival landscape, a few articles look at the historical contexts which
informed and necessitated the establishing of women's film festivals (Barlow
2003, Hohenberger and Jurschick 1994, Quelling 2007).
Soyoung Kim and Yu Shan Huang provide insight into the concept of
(women's) film festivals as alternative public spheres in the Asian context,
South Korea and Taiwan respectively (Kim, S. 1998, 2003, section 9.1;
Huang 2003).
Barlow, Melinda (2003) 'Feminism 101: The New York Women's Video
Festival, 1972-1980', Camera Obscura, 18, 3, 3-38.
Brauerhoch, Annette (1987) 'Jenseits der Metropolen: Frauenfilmfestivals in Creteil
und Dortmund', Frauen und Film, 42, 94-1 00.
Hammer, Barbara (1998) 'Turning 20: The Festival International de Films de
Femmes de Creteil', The Independent: Film and Video Monthly, 21, 7,
18-19.
Hiller, Eva and Renate Holy (1976) 'Festival of Women's Films New York
1976', Frauen und Film, 10,49.
Hohenberger, Eva and Karin Jurschick (1994) 'Zehn Jahre Feminale: Zehn
Jahre feministischer Film', in Eva Hohenberger (ed.) Blaue Wunder:
Neue Filme und Videos von Frauen 1984 bis 1994. Hamburg: Argument-
Verlag,7-17.
Huang, Yu Shan (2003) "'Creating and Distributing Films Openly": On the
Relationship between Women's Film Festivals and the Women's Rights
Movement in Taiwan', Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, 4, 1, 157-58.
HOchtker, Ingrid (1992) 'Die verfluchte, die geliebte Offentlichkeit:
Pressearbeit fUr ein Frauen-Film-Festival (Ein Fallbeispiel mit Conclusio)',
in Gruppe Feministische Offentlichkeit (ed.) Femina Publica: Frauen Offentlichkeit-Feminismus.
Koln: PapyRossa, 203-18.
Quetting, Esther (ed.) (2007) Kino Frauen Experimente. Marburg: SchOren.
9.2 Genre-Based Festivals
The festivals under this category select their films according to what can be
called 'genre' distinctions in the broadest sense.
a) film genre: fantasy, science fiction, horror, crime (cf. Stringer 2008,
section 8).
b) stylistiC or narrati~e character: animati?n,. experimental (Becker 1992,
section 9.1.1), fictIOn, documentary (Kotzlng 2004, Martini 2007, both
section 10), silent film (S0renssen 2008) or
209
Chapter Thirteen
c) length: short film (Kelly 2000; AG Kurzfilm 2006, section 5.4; cl. ReichelHeldt
2007, section 1.1; Hedling 2008, section 9.3)
Kelly, Andrew (2000) 'Briefly Encountering Short Films: Reflections on
Running a Film Festival 1994-99', Journal of Media Practice, 1, 2, 108-13.
P6csik, Andrea (2008) 'Their Life and Our Vicarious Experiences: On Human
Rights Films and Festivals', Politics and Culture, 2. On-line. Available
HTTP: htlp:llaspen.conncoll.edu/politicsandculture/page.cfm?key=623
(18 February 2009).
Selrenssen, Bjelrn (2008) 'Le giornate del cinema muto: Pordenone', Film
International, 6, 4, 77-81.
9.3 National or Regional Showcases
Traditionally film festivals have been influenced by, or only exist due to,
geopolitics. Festivals do not only showcase films an audience would
otherwise not have a chance to see. The film festival circuit as an alternative
distribution network has a strong influence on the status of a film, the
attention it receives and potentially the commercial life it has. Thus, many
regional festivals - financed by the regional municipalities - are expected to
weigh in their influence to highlight national and regional works and further
the region's (film) economy (cl. Reichel-Heldt 2007, section 1.1)
Hedling, Olof (2008) "'oetta daliga samvete": om korlfilmen, regionerna ~ch
filmfestivalerna ["This Bad Conscience": On Short Film, Regions and Film
Festivals]', in Mats Jonsson and Erlk Hedling (eds) Valf8rdsbilder:
svensk film utanf6r biografen. Stockholm: Statens Ijud- och bildarkiv,
261-81.
9.4 Online Film Festivals
In a time when 'media convergence' is a general buzz phrase an~ wh.en
cinema operators fear that the wave of digitalisation might extingUish
cinephilia as we know it, there has been a proliferation of hybrid forms,
where film festivals make use of or altogether migrate to the Internet. The
label 'online film festival' is not an easy one to define. Many major festivals
also show a selection of (short) films online (Sundance, Berlinale). Some
festivals only exist in the virtual world (e.g. Bab~/gum OnJi~e .Film .Festi.va~.
Others let audiences vote online while screening the Winning films In a
conventional cinema (Bitfilm, Hamburg). The pieces collected under this
rubric provide different views on this issue.
210
Film Festival Studies
Castle, Scot! (2000) 'What's in a Name? Does the Term "Online Film
Festival" Mean Anything at all?', The Independent: Film and Video
Monthly, 23, 6, 18-20.
de Valck, Marijke (2008) "'Screening" the Future of Film Festivals: A Long
Tale of Convergence and Digitization', Film International, 6,4, 15-23.
Hernandez, Eugene (1999) 'The Point of No Return: On-Line Film Festivals
Showcases & Distributors', The Independent: Film and Video Monthly, 22,
9,26-8.
Kurtzke, Simone (2007) 'Webfilm Theory', unpublished PhD thesis, Queen
Margaret University.
10. Publications Dedicated to Individual Film Festivals
The last section of our annotated film festival bibliography collects articles,
book chapters and books that have been created with varying purposes.
There are several books that have been edited to celebrate major
anniversaries of festivals; some of those focus on the glamour and highlights
(e.g. Baecque 2007, Toubiana 1997 etc.), while others strive for a
contextualisation and critical remembrance (e.g. Behnken 2004, Schenk
2007). Among the books, chapters, and articles are pieces collecting and
describing a festival history (Stanfield 2008), or analysing specific discourses
and issues using a specific case study (e.g. Hope and oickerson 2006a, b,
c; Martini 2007).
Bart, Peter (1997) Cannes: Fifty Years of Sun, Sex & Celluloid: Behind the
Scenes at the World's Most Famous Film Festival. New York: Hyperion.
Beauchamp, Cari and Henri Behar (1992) Hollywood on the Riviera: The
Inside Story of the Cannes Film Festival. New York: W. Morrow and Co.
Behnken, Klaus (ed.) (2004) Kurz und klein: 50 Jahre Internationale
Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen. Ostfildern-Ruil: Hatje Cantz.
Billard, Pierre (1997) Festival de Cannes: dOr et de Palmes. Paris:
Gallimard.
Bono, Francesco (1991) 'La Mostra del Cinema di Venezia: Nascita e
Sviluppo nell'Anteguerra (1932-1939)', Storia Contemporanea, 22, 3,
513-49.
(1992) 'Venezia 1932: 11 Cinema Diverta Arte', in Biennale. Venezia:
-Fabbri Editori, 91-109.
(2001) 'EXTASE am Lido: Chronik eines Skanals', in Armin Loacker
-(ed.) Ekstase. Wien: Filmarchive Austria, 115-45.
Corless, Kieron and Chris oarke (2007) Cannes: Inside the World's Premier
Film Festival. London: Faber and Faber.
De Baecque, Antoine (ed.) (2007) Les ler;ons de cinema du Festival de
Cannes. Paris: Panama.
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IV. Looking Forward: Research Opportunities
While it is true that film festivals need to be studied in greater detail and with
more systematic rigour, it is no longer possible to maintain that there are no
comprehensive studies of film festivals available. Our overview and
bibliography point to a refreshing and rich academic research practice (albeit
a somewhat scattered one) that includes the development of what we may
tentatively call film festival theory. However, now that we have a rough
understanding of how festivals work (as multifaceted networks, different
festivals for various stakeholders etc.), we need to push for the next level:
refine our theoretical models, develop more systematic methodologies, try
and achieve synergy between disciplines, and reflect on the role of the
researcher within the film festival network, especially vis-a.-vis and in
cooperation with festival professionals.
When we consider the framing of complex phenomena using
interdisciplinary approaches as one of the major academic challenges faced in
the humanities and social sciences today, the young field of film festival
studies looks particularly promiSing as both vantage point and practice.
Located on the nexus of several discourses and practices, current research
on film festivals is manifesting itself as a productive path to expand the
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classical cinema studies agenda and as a fresh ground from which to
formulate answers to new (interdisciplinary) questions. In conclusion to this
article and our overview of the field of film festival studies we would like to
briefly draw attention to four important topics that demand our joint attention
and which ought to be the concerns of film festival scholars in the (near)
future.
1) Digitisation and Distribution Flows
Over the decades film festivals have been described as an alternative
distribution system with different agendas: early European festivals emerged
as solution to and in cooperation with hegemonic Hollywood; in the 1960s
festivals became safe havens for World Cinema with artistic and political
agendas; later festivals were increasingly used as stepping stones for the
circulation of (independent) quality films. Time and again, the festival
network has adjusted to the demands of the new age. Today, digitisation is
posing new challenges to existing festival formats. Research is much
needed to assess the effects of emerging digital media platforms on
distribution flows. How will festivals reposition themselves? What new
relationships will be formed with (commercial) stakeholders? How will this
affect festivals' ability to set agendas and add value? Specific research
projects could include the tracking of films that travel the festival circuit: How
do they accumulate value and attract attention? What are the patterns in the
'paths' that films and filmmakers follow? And what are the effects of awards
on distribution and revenues?
2) Festivals as Popular Exhibition Sites
A second important topic for future film festival research concerns exhibition.
The number of film festivals worldwide is still expanding and the events have
become objects of popular attention. Contrary to the situation of only two
decades ago, film festivals attract mass aUdiences, while regular cinemagoing
is in decline. Can we understand festivals as a counterweight to the
'death of cinema'? How does the festival exhibition style relate to the larger
trend of 'eventisation'? Do we fully comprehend the complex interplay
between festivals' local (site-specific) attraction and their global
(cosmopolitan) appeal?
3) Programming and Identity Politics
While there has been substantial attention for film festivals in relation to
processes of self-identification and community b~ilding (i~ pa~icular. !or
queer festivals), the relation between programming and Identity politiCS
remains one of the key fields in film festival research that needs to be further
refined. Studies have not yet been synthesised in ~n overarchi~g the.ory, ~nd
more case studies need to be conducted, espeCially on festivals In Africa
214
Film Festival Studies
and South-America. Moreover, work on programming - a field that, for
cinema studies, has long been neglected and is only approached in museum
studies - might bring new insights for spectatorship and reception studies,
especially at a time when cinemas are losing their audiences to television
and games sets at home.
4) Festivals as/and Creative Industries
Contemporary film festivals are professional institutions run by
entrepreneurial managers and smart lobbyists as much as by passionate
cinephiles. Cooperation with the industries has become commonplace at
large events, and festival markets rival festival competitions as major
attractions. Following this trend of professionalisation is a need for research
examining the organisational logics of the festival institution in relation to the
larger creative (media) industries. Further research needs to be done on the
impact the blurring of boundaries has for film festivals, filmmakers, (public)
funding structures, and the film industry. Finally, closer interdisciplinary
cooperation between cinema departments, business schools, technical
universities and copyright experts is necessary to tackle new research
questions.
Notes
We have included academic as well as journalistic work that has already
contributed or is likely to contribute to the study of film festivals. The
academic work ranges from articles and book chapters to monographs
and anthologies on the topic. Although we are aware of the existence of
several interesting MA theses or unpublished conference papers, we
opted to leave them out for two practical reasons: limited accessibility
and space.
2 The annotated version of this themed bibliography on film festival
research has been available online since December 2008:
<http://www1.uni-hamburg.de/Medien/berichte/arbeiten/0091 08.htm!>.
This article is a reworked and expanded version of the digitalpublication.
3 All references are listed in the bibliography which is included as chapter
three of the article. The section numbers following author and year point
to the subchapters of the annotated bibliography.
215