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Call for papers In 2000 Eric Renstchler famously lamented the so-called ‘Cinema of Consensus’, that is a post-New German Cinema national film culture which, in his view, wanted ‘the cinema to be a site of mass diversion, not a moral institution or political forum’. In his conclusion Rentschler did, however, point to the ‘green shoots’ of a more critical, and thus in his view ‘better’, German cinema, one of ‘offbeat voices and less reconciled visions, less visible films with a historical ground, a post-national sensibility, and a critical edge’, even if they offer ‘a marginal perspective.. He lists an array of directors, whose names have become much more widely known in the years since –Tom Tykwer, Wolfgang Becker, Fatih Akin and Hans-Christian Schmid. If we add Christian Petzold, Marc Rothemund, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck and Valeska Grisebach to this list we begin to see a constellation of filmmakers whose work has moved from the margins to the centre of German cinema over the first decade of the new millennium, with this ‘remarkable flowering of talent’ (James, 2007) responsible for the present revival in the nation’s film fortunes from a revitalised international reputation and renewed critical interest On Monday 30 November the department of German, Russian and Slavonic Studies at the University of Leeds will be holding a one-day postgraduate workshop for up to 10 students which will consider the developments in German national film culture since the publication of Rentschler’s seminal essay. The event will be attended by established academics in the field and consider what has changed in nearly a decade since the publication of Rentschler’s essay: is the notion of ‘consensus’ still a feature of recent German cinema; what role does the past play in the cinema of a younger generation of filmmakers; can we once again speak of collective filmmaking endeavours? The event will also feature a plenary training session with a representative of Wallflower Press called ‘How to Get Published’. PGRs working in the field are invited to submit abstracts for 15-20 minute papers in the areas of: The new German heritage film Memories of the fascist past, terrorist and GDR legacies on film Heimat and its legacies The ‘Berlin School’ of filmmakers Contemporary Autorenkino Legacies of the New German Cinema Symposium Date: 30 November 2009. Starting at 9am and finishing at 5pm. Abstracts: 500 words, and please include the title of your paper, contributor's name, email address and academic affiliation. Deadline for Receipt: Friday 23 October 2009. For more information or to submit your abstract please contact Dr Chris Homewood ([log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>) Dr. Chris Homewood Lecturer in German & World Cinemas Director of Undergraduate Studies, JH in World Cinemas Department of German, Russian and Slavonic Studies School of Modern Languages and Cultures, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT semester office hours: Tuesday 11-12, Michael Sadler Building 2.06, or by e-mail arrangement tel: +44 (0)113 343 3512 e-mail: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>