World Cinema On Demand: Film Education and Distribution in the Streaming Media Era
An AHRC-funded, two-day workshop investigating the impact of video streaming on the distribution and teaching of world cinema.
15 and 16 June 2012, Queen’s University Belfast
Confirmed Speakers Include:
Professor Malte Hagener (Philipps-Universität Marburg)
Professor Dina Iordanova (University of St Andrews)
Professor Julia Knight (University of Sunderland)
Ana Kronschnabl (FluffyLogic, Bristol)
Professor Paul McDonald (University of Nottingham)
Professor Alejandro Pardo (Navarra University)
Professor Sheila Petty (University of Regina)
Dr. Laura Rascaroli (University College Cork)
Dr. Karl Schoonover (University of Warwick)
Dr. Niamh Thornton (University of Ulster)
Dr. Patrick Vonderau (Stockholm University)
Plus the launch of Dina Iordanova and Stuart Cunningham (Eds)
Digital Disruption: Cinema Moves On-line
(St Andrews Film Studies)
5pm, 15 June 2012, Queen's Film Theatre, Belfast
***Full programme to follow***
The participation of early career researchers is strongly encouraged, and three bursaries of up to £100 are to be made available to PhD students and postdoctoral scholars to assist with travel expenses. Interested candidates should contact Alexander Fisher ([log in to unmask]), including a CV and a brief explanation of the reasons for their interest in the workshop, by 7 June 2012.
Workshop Aims
In recent years, huge advances in technology have enabled new channels of film distribution through video streaming website such as YouTube, Vimeo and, more recently, video on demand platform such as Netflix, LoveFilm, MUBI and iTunes. Even social networks such as Facebook are planning to offer video on demand thanks to agreements with the largest film production companies (i.e. Warner Brothers). These advances suggest that the distribution of cinema is undergoing a radical transformation, in which the Hollywood studios are not the only beneficiaries. In fact, the video on demand platforms have vastly improved the accessibility of silent, art-house and world cinema, bringing these films to new audiences all over the globe, as evident from data published by streaming websites.
Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and coordinated by Dr Stefano Baschiera and Dr Alexander Fisher at Queen’s University Belfast, this workshop forms part of an emerging research network that examines the impact of these transformations on the distribution, teaching, and research of world cinema, creating a point of reference for debate and discussion, and bringing together different experiences, competences, and disciplines. The workshop will engage directly with ongoing debates surrounding these transformations with regard to the study and research of issues such as national cinema, transnational identity, production, distribution and archiving, propelling an international dialogue between academic researchers in the field of film studies and digital and new media.
