This week we are going on a trip around the world, looking at emerging, burgeoning and resurging cinemas. Our brilliant guest contributors will be writing on a national cinema that they are passionate about, and recommending film titles to check out so you can get a taste of these exciting and unique cinemas.
First up is Canadian cinema with Mathieu Ravier, the artistic director of Possible Worlds- Sydney’s Canadian Film Festival, discussing a cinema that inspired him to establish a festival to promote it.
On Tuesday we’ll head to South America to the emerging cinemas of Colombia and Peru. Spanish Film Festival Coordinator Jorge Federico Echevarria will take us into the world of New Latin American cinema, looking at the impact of a violent history and the growth of magical realism storytelling.
Then we turn to Europe on Wednesday, with ex-British Council Film Programmer Annabel Grundy talking about new practices of production in the UK and showing that there is much more to British cinema than London gangsters and Jane Austen adaptations. On Thursday, Freelance writer and critic, and BIFF marketing manager Sarah Ward will takes us from Bergman to Vampires as she explore Swedish cinema and the current filmmakers who continue to mark this Scandinavian country out as an influential filmmaking nation. We then head East on Friday, with Trespass‘ Sean Rom investigating the cinema of Romania’s New Wave. Sean’s interest in this cinema piqued by the small group of films and filmmakers from Romania garnering awards at International film festival recently.
On Saturday attention will turn to Egypt with Trespass‘ Beth Wilson looking at the impact of political change on its cinema. The biggest producer of films in the Middle East, Egyptian cinema is once again political charged and commentators have been questioning if this could be a return to form for a national cinema plagued by censorship.
Travelling to Asia, on Sunday The Reel Bits‘ Editor and KOFFIA blogger, Richard Gray will enlighten the world of South Korean Cinema for us. Succeeding not only at film festivals but also in the local box office South Korean cinema, Richard will explain, has come into its own.
Join us as we go off the beaten cinematic track to explore some of the world’s most exciting and fascinating national cinemas.
