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Please find details below and in the attached PDF of the call for papers for
the 3rd Edinburgh International Film Audiences Conference. Apologies in
advance for any cross postings that may occur in the next wee while. Please
circulate the details to anyone you know who may be interested.
Many thanks
Ailsa Hollinshead

3rd Edinburgh International Film Audiences Conference

March 26th – 27th 2009

Filmhouse, Lothian Road, Edinburgh




Is the audience ever wrong? Exploring the worlds of film audiences.


“An audience is never wrong. An individual member of it may be an imbecile,
but a thousand imbeciles together in the dark - that is critical genius.”
Billy Wilder made this comment about audiences but just how much do we know
about what film audiences think and how often are they credited with being
geniuses or more often seen as imbeciles? Empirical research into film
audiences is a small but developing field and this conference continues its
aim of providing a space where those involved or interested in this area can
come together to share research findings and discuss future ideas. Whilst
the conference will appeal primarily to academics it is not confined to
them. Previous conferences have had contributions from those directly
involved in the film industry and this is to be welcomed. We are very
pleased to announce that the opening and closing speakers have been
confirmed. The opening speaker is Professor Ian Christie, from the School of
Art, Film and Visual Media, Birkbeck, University of London. He is Vice
President of Europa Cinemas <http://www.europa-cinemas.org/> , an EU funded
organisation which supports exhibitors throughout Europe who show European
films, and a Trustee of the Independent Film Parliament. He is also a
regular reviewer and broadcaster on film matters. The closing speaker is Dr
Sean Perkins. He has been Research Executive at the UK Film Council since
2001.  His research interests include UK and global theatrical markets, the
UK video and online markets, film on television and film audiences. He has
managed research projects on the impact of local cinema and a qualitative
study of avid cinemagoers.



There is only one criterion for proposed papers: they should be concerned
with empirical research into film audiences. The audiences can be anywhere
in the world and for any genre of film. They can be historical pieces of
work that explore the construction of film audiences through governmental
policy or pieces that look at the construction of fans via archival
material. We are happy to receive abstracts from students and new
researchers as well as established researchers no matter what their
background is.



The conference takes place over two days in the heart of Edinburgh. One of
the main attractions for participants is that we only run single track
sessions – no more difficult decisions about who to go and listen to or the
awful experience of presenting to just a couple of people whilst everyone
else has gone to hear the famous speaker! Everyone is guaranteed a decent
audience plus 30 minutes to present their paper followed by 15 minutes of
questions – and we are very proud of our reputation regarding time-keeping.



Abstracts of no more than 300 words should be submitted as virus-free MS
Word or rtf attachments, to Dr Ailsa Hollinshead
([log in to unmask]) no later than 31st August 2008.
Abstracts will be reviewed by external referees and all contributors will be
notified of the outcome by 30th September 2008. Copies of the conference
paper will have to be with Dr Hollinshead by mid January 2009. There will be
a bursary for the best student paper, which can include undergraduates as
well as postgraduates (subject to proof of status). Successful candidates
will be expected to book a place within one month of their paper being
accepted. Costs and application forms can be obtained from the conference
website. 



The conference will take place at Filmhouse, Lothian Road, Edinburgh. The
website and abstracts from the last conference can be found at:
http://www.filmaudiencesconference.co.uk/
<http://www.filmaudiencesconference.co.uk/>

Conference organisers:

Ms Nicola Hay; Dr Ailsa Hollinshead; Ms Helen Jackson; Ms Caroline von
Schmalensee