HFMK03312U FM, Module 2: Contemporary European Film and Television –Texts and Production

How is European film and TV content created today? What are the mechanisms behind the making of contemporary European audiovisual content? Who chooses what to show on European screens? And what characterize successful European film and television productions?

To understand the governing principles of the European film and television landscape of today, it is necessary to analyze cinematic and television texts using the terminology inherent to at least three main perspectives. The first one is the perspective of policy makers who establish a broader framework for regulating the production and dissemination of audiovisual content in Europe. The second perspective focuses on the film and television practitioners who pursue their creative visions within the governing policy framework. The third perspective includes the producers and distributors of audiovisual works, who act as intermediaries between policy makers and creative practitioners.

This course offers theories and analyses related to all three perspectives while building on recent case studies of specific fiction films, TV series and documentaries. The case studies illustrate different aspects of the audiovisual sector and introduce the most dominant topics and genres in contemporary European film and TV. Students are expected to watch the films and episodes discussed before class to be able to analyze their specificities as well as their particular production contexts. Examples of works to be analyzed include recent Lars von Trier’s films, Oscar-winning film Ida, documentary film The Act of Killing and Nordic Noir.

By the end of the course, students will be familiar with the complex processes of reading and producing texts in the current European film and television landscape and understand the constant interplay between change and continuity related to financial and political as well as cultural and artistic tensions in the creative media industries.

 The lectures will include guest speakers from the research project Mediating Cultural Encounters on European Screens (MeCETES.co.uk) and the industry. In addition, students will have the opportunity to participate in an international conference at the University of Copenhagen on European co-productions, which is organized in collaboration with the Center for Modern European Studies (CEMES) and the research priority area Creative Media Industries.