HEGRBTV08U Interdisciplinary Elective Subject, topic 8: Transnational Perspectives in European film from 1945 to the Present

This module will begin by introducing the main issues at stake in the definition of European cinema: on the one hand, the opposition between art film and mainstream film productions and, on the other hand, the dynamics between European and Hollywood cinemas. In the introductory section, we will also analyse the role of institutional and governmental support in film industries, as well as the role of film in the development of a specific cultural European identity.

The first half is devoted to author/auteur theory and related discussions, exploring the pioneering currents and the national schools in European art film from the post-war period until the 1990’s. The sessions will focus on the analysis of exemplary and particularly outstanding films of Italian neorealism and the European new waves (French Nouvelle Vague, the New German Wave, Portuguese New Cinema, British Social realism, Eastern European film before the 1989 and Danish dogma film). Single famous auteurs will also be considered (Buñuel, Bergman, among others). In the analysis of individual films, we will look at the use of many aspects of the film language but also situate films in their social, historical, political and cultural context, thereby highlighting the specificity and locatedness of cinematic production.

The second half focuses on contemporary issues, exploring contemporary European film to see how political and social crises after 1990 have influenced European film as an artefact (themes, characters, narratives, context). We will focus on how the political and cultural climate after the end of the Cold War has been decisive in the reconceptualization of national cinemas across Europe and the ways in which those crises are being reflected and represented. Contemporary issues including migration and multiculturalism, financial and social crises, emergence of nationalisms and right wing populism, and solidarity chains will be considered.