Deadline: 8 June 2012
Evolving African Film Cultures: Local and Global Experiences, a conference organised by the Africa Media Centre, University of Westminster
Date: Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 November 2012
Venue: University of Westminster, Regent Campus, 309 Regent Street, London, W1B 2UW
This is the first call for papers for a two-day conference on changes in African film and television production and, of equal importance, the transformation of African film audiences in local and global contexts. African film production, distribution and consumption have been more noticeable in the West African region, as showcased by biennial exhibitions at the FESPACO festivals in Burkina Faso. Arguably, such festivals have encouraged a type of production that is admired by Europeans, but which is rarely available to, or appreciated widely by audiences in those productions’ countries of origin. Portuguese and Arab-speaking regions in Africa have also developed diverse and high quality film cultures, but their experiences need to be debated within a wider context. More recently, Anglophone regions, led by Nigeria, have developed popular commercial film models which have been enthusiastically received by African audiences. One could say that African film markets have been rapidly expanding, with many implications for film and policy makers, distributors and audiences.
Since 2000, audiences for African film elsewhere in the world have grown in size. Such expansion has implications for film content, form, production strategies, distribution mechanisms and policy frameworks. African filmmakers have to delicately negotiate widening markets, for instance, by paying more attention to the political economy of film consumption in the rapidly changing local and global contexts. The digital economy, especially the internet, has opened up huge opportunities for the wider distribution of African film. Papers may focus on, among other topics, the following:
• Production cultures and circulation of film;
• History, myth and identity in African film;
• The representation of African cultures in film;
• Audiences, reception and sites of spectatorship;
• Indigenous language films and the problems of subtitles and illiteracy.
• Morality and spirituality in African cinema;
• Exhibition, financing and distribution of African film;
• Cinema and digital technologies;
• Film festivals and the development of national cinemas in Africa;
• Revenue, business models and piracy
• Auteur, film genres and form
• Collaborative filmmaking in the global north/trans-national collaborations
• African film philosophy
• The image, sound, written and spoken word in filmic narratives
• Institutions, policies and film agencies
DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACTS
The deadline for submission of abstracts is Friday 8 June, 2012. Successful applicants will be notified by Monday 18 June, 2012. Abstracts should be 300 words long. They must include the title of the conference, presenter’s name, affiliation, email and postal address, together with the title of the paper. Please ensure when saving your abstract that your name is part of the file name.
PROGRAMME AND REGISTRATION
This two day conference will take place on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 November, 2012. The fee for registration (which applies to all participants, including presenters) will be £140, with a concessionary rate of £60 for students, to cover all conference documentation, refreshments and administration costs. Registration will open in September 2012.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
For queries/ submissions: Helen Cohen, Events Administrator, at journalism@westminster.ac.uk
Website: http://www.westminster.ac.uk/research/a-z/africa-media-centre