Contemporary Political Cinema

Abstract

Explores political films that have emerged on the global film festival circuit (1990s-2010s) The political films that have emerged on the global film festival circuit since the 1990s mark a shift in cinematic strategies for critically addressing dominant, militant, or otherwise repressive ideologies. From a focus on the representation of oppression in films like The Battle of Algiers , films such as Timbuktu, Nobody Knows About Persian Cats and Chop Shop now contribute to the active formation of political characters and viewers, a form not fully realized until the 21st century due to shifts in information technologies and resulting political organization. This book demonstrates that a contemporary form of political cinema has emerged, centered on the production of subjectivity and networks of protest, which depicts the active formation of political identities that resonates with off-screen protest movements. Key Features Documents global political cinemas 1990s–2010s Argues for a contemporary shift in understanding political cinemas, beyond Third Cinema and political modernism Offers a new approach to cinematic independence by looking at understudied films, such as North/West African films and Kurdish films Revisits the cinematic politics of Gilles Deleuze