The first session of the ‘Mapping Film in the Middle-East and North Africa’ research seminar coorganized by Nolwenn Mingant and Abdelfettah Benchenna will take place on Friday 5 April at the Université Sorbonne nouvelle-Paris 3, 13 rue de Santeuil, Paris, from 2.30 to 3.30 pm, room 436. Open to all. No registration fee.

Denise Brahimi (Université Paris 7) will discuss her book 50 ans de cinéma maghrébin (Minerve, 2009)

Two presentations will follow :

« L’accès aux films au Moyen-Orient et en Afrique du Nord » Nolwenn Mingant (Université Sorbonne nouvelle-Paris 3)

« La commercialisation des DVD contrefaits dans les pays du Maghreb », Abdelfettah Benchenna (Université Paris Nord)

Mapping Film in the Middle-East and North Africa: Cartography, Issues, Players and Audiences

The MENA Cinema research seminar aims to map out the cinemas present in North Africa and the Middle-East, to identify the economic players and their strategies, and to develop a sociological analysis of reception by local audiences, thereby raising economic, political and cultural issues. The topics to be explored include notably the competition between Hollywood, Bollywood and national cinemas ; the political and economic players of these cultural industries ; production, distribution, exhibition ; film personnel training and film schools ; legal and illegal film circulation ; reception and modes of consumption of films and TV series. This seminar will create an opportunity to set up an international network of researchers working on these topics, from all disciplinary perspectives.