The Transcultural Studies Division hold an intensive lecture course entitled “Film Studies” (Foundation I – Seminar (VMC)), taught by Prof. Thomas Elsaesser from the University of Amsterdam on July 22-26 and July 29-30 and conducted by Prof. Mitsuyo Wada-Marciano.
This course offers an introduction to – and overview of – the analysis of contemporary World Cinema, especially focusing on the impact of globalization and the increasing importance of film festivals. The emphasis on globalization will highlight the transcultural nature of cinema, both mainstream and independent, and it will reveal the asymmetrical power-relations that underpin the circulation of cinematic cultural capital. We will examine the impact of Hollywood blockbusters in different parts of the world, and the local response, both by filmmakers/film industries and by audiences/critics.
The emphasis on film festivals will first outline the history of film festivals since 1945, and then focus on the proliferation of festivals all over the world since the 1980s. We will examine the increasing relationality of once stable concepts such as “national cinema” and “auteur,” now that festivals need to be seen as more than mere exhibition platforms, but also as sites for the production of films, their distribution, and the generation of the critical discourses that validate them. We shall also look at how festivals function as gatekeepers and agenda setters for much of the world’s non-Hollywood filmmaking.
Date & Time: July 22-26, 29 13:00-16:15, July 30 13:00-18:00
Location: Basement Small Meeting Room (地下小会議室), Faculty of Letters Main Bldg.
Language: English
Welcome all students who are interested in cinema and media studies.
Click here to see syllabus and here for poster.
If you have questions about it, you may contact Prof. Mitsuyo Wada-Marciano at wadamarciano.mitsuyo.6w[a]kyoto-u.ac.jp.