Intellect

Keynote Speakers:

Professor Tim Bergfelder, University of Southampton

Dr Rosalind Galt, University of Sussex           

A decade into the establishment of the European Cinema Research Forum, this conference aims to establish where exactly the ‘Europeanness' of European Cinema may lie. Catherine Fowler argues in her introduction to The European Cinema Reader that ‘we could almost say that without critics [...] there would be no ‘European Cinemas' (p. 1). This suggests that outside of the critical field there is no ‘European Cinema.' Like the notion of Europe, that of European Cinema must refer to a space which relies on discourse to create its identity, to decide which nations and which films should be included. The idea of a pan-European film industry producing, distributing and exhibiting films with Europe has rarely been realised in any sustained way (despite various policy initiatives). Bringing together the various critical, theoretical and historical discourses of the European cinema, this conference asks us to investigate our own critical investment in the creation of European cinema, what is at stake institutionally, aesthetically and critically in this creation, and what purposes it may serve.

The conference will cover a broad range of themes, issues and debates occasioned by the debate over the term ‘European', including issues of exile, diaspora, and borders; the representation of migration and travel ; stars and stardom in Europe; and directors such as Michael Haneke, Manuel de Oliveira and Roman Polanski. The European emerges as a complex merging of different forms, functions and modes of making and viewing films. European Cinema is placed into a dialogue with other cinemas, and seen as fertile terrain for the expression of competing ideas and aesthetics concerning the spatiality and temporality of the European.

The conference will also feature a screening of archive footage from the regionally and nationally significant film archive held by Dartington Hall Trust. The Elmhirsts, the founders of The Dartington Hall Trust, were at the cutting edge of education, agriculture, social regeneration, industry and the arts - and this extended to the use of film as a way to document, educate and entertain. In this way the Elmhirsts documented the restoration of the estate's buildings, research trips to countries including India and Indonesia, community social events, activities of Dartington Hall School and local industry and agriculture. The Collection includes over 200 hours of original film and about 500 hours of video. In addition to the personal Elmhirst family films, it holds iconic footage of the early work of the Trust including dance, summer school and reconstruction and much of the early work of the Film Unit, which was at the cutting edge of film production in pre-war Britain and produced many short films, specialising in educational films. As well as documenting the work of European emigres including Michael Chekov and Heinrich Heckroth at Dartington, the archive attests to the vitality and diversity of European film.

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For all other conference enquiries, please email Fiona Handyside

 If you are interested in the topic of European Cinema take a look at Studies in European Cinema or Studies in Eastern European Cinema.