Feature Films Research Articles

Shock Absorber

This essay attends to Insomnia of a Serial Dreamer (2020), the latest feature film by Lebanese filmmaker Mohamed Soueid. Drawn from footage gathered over eighteen years, this deeply personal experimental documentary engages the wounds of war, yearnings of love and obsessions of cinophilia. Soueid organizes his work through a somnambular conceit: that by telling him bedtime stories, his friends might help him fall asleep. This pretext serves as a container for a form of compulsive storytelling whose intimate emotional textures are threaded with melancholy and nostalgia. Insomnia of a Serial Dreamer explores the possibility of a curative cinema—one whose attitude to the past is not to stabilize or hermetically seal it away—but to materialize the imprecisions and uncertainties of collective memory through the cinematic medium as a form of social relation.

Deconstructing gender and family norms in new Tunisian cinema: A queer reading of Ala Eddine Slim’s Tlamess/طلامس‎(2019)

This article seeks to problematize the concept of queer cinema and then to illuminate conceptual nuances through the analysis of a specific film. The Tunisian feature film Tlamess can be read as queer on two levels. First, its queerness relates to the protagonist, a deserter who undergoes a fundamental metamorphosis: he frees himself from the patterns of military masculinity and, far from the normative world, takes on a maternal role. Second, the dissolution of the traditional gender and family order is staged through cinematic processes that introduce the viewers to a pre-verbal world outside of established symbolic and social patterns. Expressive audio-visual techniques transfer the viewers into this alternative world and create an experience of difference, a kind of mind game. Thus, queer cinema should not only be understood in terms of political activism, as an examination of characters supposedly deviating from gender norms. Rather, and crucially, it emerges in a much broader sense out of the strategies of aesthetic mise en scène.

A case of Holy cow: religion, politics and culture in assamese feature film Goru

ABSTRACT The bovine has been the cause of conflict in the Indian sub-continent for the past few centuries owing to religious and cultural sentiments associated with it. This apparent irreconcilable conflict is localised in the binary of religious mannerism espoused by the religious groups in northern India, which is known as India’s cow belt. Such contradictions have caused bitter riots and conflicts resulting in social unrest in mainland India with spiralling effects spilling over to other regions. Although this issue has become a determiner in controlling electoral politics in some Indian states that affected the rise in Hindutva politics, in the case of Assam both cow-politics and Hindutva sentiments have had little effect. This paper proposes to examine this hypothesis by analysing Himanshu Prasad Das’ Assamese feature film Goru (2021) through the lens of cultural nationalism. A study of the film within the framework of Assamese popular culture shall help us understand the implication behind the rejection of Hindutva ideology in this peripheral region. The primary focus of this paper is to read how cow politics and Hindutva have failed to make inroads in Assam’s composite culture despite Bharatiya Janata Party’s thumping victory in Assembly polls in 2016.

Capítulo 7. Pillorying the Pillars: the EU identity crisis through the lens of Italian contemporary film and TV drama

This chapter investigates screen representations of migrants in Italian productions over the last two decades through a methodological blend of textual analysis and statistical analysis of select hard data.A representative sample of feature films (Saimir, Good morning Aman, La desconocida, Cover Boy, Mar Nero, Francesca, Terraferma, Fuego en el mar) reveals a balance between narratives of clash and encounter between cultures while highlighting the frequency of the victim paradigm almost always through a vision ab intra that, in most cases, carries a symbolic function of condemnation of a social issue (be it racism or injustice) and of promoting integration in the form of compassionate realism.However, a detailed analysis of audience numbers and box office records (both in Italy and in other European markets such as Spain) also reveals the low impact and public outreach of these films. The real paradigm shift in the past two decades has been from film to serial television, which has become capable of attracting audiences of millions and multiplying exports.Thus, the second part of the chapter will argue how, through a distinctive blending and dramatization of true facts and fiction, series like Gomorra, Suburra and El Comisario Montalbano push beyond traditional stereotypes and can be seen as paradigmatic of the crisis of the European Identity as a result of the failure (by Italian and EU institutions alike) to keep true to the so-called Pillars that the European entity has set itself.
 Palabras clave: EU Pillars, Migration/migrants, Italy, Feature film, TV serial drama, Audience outreach.

A Phenomenological Study of Representations of a Person with Down Syndrome in “Le huitième jour” by Jac van Dormael

The subject of the article is the world of a person with an intellectual disability in the comedy drama of Belgian director Jac von Dormael “Le huitième jour” (1996, “The Eighth Day”). The purpose of the article is phenomenological reading and analysis of the representation of a person with Down syndrome and his living world in the featured film, focusing on the emotional and social representation of the disability phenomenon. The approach of the filmmakers to the issue of disability is examined with the principles of social and film phenomenology, semantics and poetics of the artistic text. The research focuses on two perspectives of the phenomenon: a) the relationship of the main character Georges – a musical, theatrical, positive young man with Down syndrome – with his closest family and b) his dialogue with the wider society, which mainly emerges from the communication with Harry – the family father and a successful career teacher. The article makes analytical conclusions about emotional-social phenomena and their significance for the concept of disability, discussing other feature films of a similar period in the comparison. The research invites us to delve deeper into the representation of the experiences of joy and pain that is characteristic of the film “The Eighth Day” and at the same time provokes broader cultural associations.

Disney and Disability: Media Representations of Disability in Disney and Pixar Animated Films

Since the merger of Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios, Disney has been lauded for creating more progressive content that includes representations of main characters from diverse backgrounds. However, progressive representations of disability (both physical and mental disability) have been slow to emerge in most mediums. The objective of this research is to examine whether portrayals of illness and disability in recent animated feature films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios or Pixar Animation Studios depict progressive (or multicultural) narratives of disability versus traditional narratives of disability. We analyzed 20 of the most recent (i.e., 2008-2018) animated films from both studios with 9 films from Walt Disney Animation and 11 films from Pixar Animation Studios. Using thematic content analysis, a combination of pre-identified and emergent disability- and illness-related themes are described. Overwhelmingly, disability portrayals were traditional, with disability used to elicit pity or humor from the viewer and to indicate that characters were evil or old. Out of the 20 films, few progressive portrayals of disability were observed. Although Disney has been lauded for being more inclusive in their representations of characters, disability representations continue to perpetuate and reaffirm the stigmatization of disability.

Peter the Great in Modern Russian Cinema

Within the framework of this study, the author analyzes the features of the construction of the image of Peter I in the Russian historical cinema of the post-Soviet period. As a source, feature films and TV series dedicated both directly to Peter the Great himself and his era are considered. The article draws conclusions about the most popular historical heroes in cinema, directly related to the first Russian emperor, and gives characteristics of the bright film incarnations of the reformer tsar. Thus, the analysis of post-Soviet Russian historical cinema allows us to conclude that in recent decades, plots related to the personal life of the tsar (the conflict with Tsarevich Alexei and the relationship with Catherine I) have been in demand. The author also traces the connections between modern Russian and Soviet cinema and highlights common places in the interpretation of the image of Peter I. The characteristic features of the cinematic image of Peter I, set in the films of the first half of the XX century, namely, impulsiveness, determination, complete dedication, migrated to modern cinema and continue to be exploited when creating new films.

Sámi Identity across Generations: From Passing for Nordics to Sámi Self-Exposure

Following histories of racism and abuse at the hands of Norwegian and Swedish authorities, many Indigenous Sámi have chosen to disconnect from everything Sámi and instead pass for ethnic Norwegians and Swedes. As a result, their children and grandchildren have grown up with no or little knowledge of their Sámi heritage. In the 2000s, several of these children and grandchildren, who were born after the Second World War, are eager to reconnect with their Sámi identity. This article fleshes out the entangled road back to Sáminess through a close analysis of two Norwegian documentaries—Suddenly Sami (Min mors hemmelighet) (2009) and My Family Portrait (Familiebildet) (2013)—in which the women directors discover their Sámi identity in front of the camera. A central point in the discussion is how the directors use discourses of biology and genetics to recuperate their Sámi identity in the 2000s. The article raises several explanations as to why they retreat to these discourses byputting the two Norwegian documentaries in conversation with the Swedish feature film Sami Blood (Sameblod) (2016).

PRODUCTION ORGANIZATION OF GRAPHICS PRODUCT

Computer graphics is developing dynamically in various spheres of human life. Paying attention to the high dynamism of the world around us, the issue of optimizing the process of video, animation, character, advertising, avatar, etc. creation is becoming increasingly important. The graphic product requires the fastest production process without paying attention to the fact that it is a development of a feature film, a commercial project of various scales or a project of 10 frames. The analysis of the main achievements of specialists in the field of computer graphics revealed different approaches to the organization of graphic projects. In specialist’s works, attention is paid to the principles of graphic conveyors of major studios and film companies. The purpose of this work is to present recommendations for the organization of the process of developing a short video series by one person, taking into account the automation of the relevant stages of work, on the example of a video of social advertising. To implement this task, the scheme of the project workflow was proposed, where the main stages of creating graphic content are marked, the relevant software and selected parts of the workflow such as preproduction, production and postproduction. The following software tools were selected for the project implementation: Z-Brush, Blender, Autodesk Maya, Adobe After Effects. The analysis of the development algorithm showed the critical points of the scheme, which reduce the speed of the project. To avoid this, it was proposed the technique of "pipeline". As a result of research the methodologies of the graphics pipeline organization was raised, and the beneficial effects of reliable workflow management were illustrated. A visual and detailed form of presentation of the creating a graphic product stages using the "pipeline" technique will help increase the level of knowledge among beginners.

Образы несвободы в фильмах современных кавказских режиссеров

The article is devoted to the films of young Caucasian directors who graduated from Alexander Sokurov studio at Kabardino-Balkarian State University (Nalchik). The author studies the artistic features of the films Closeness (director Kantemir Balagov), Unclenching the Fists (director Kira Kovalenko), and Deep Rivers (director Vladimir Bitokov). The way the traumatic experiences from the past and problems of the present are reflected in the art field becomes the subject of the research. The article analyses the historical and cultural contexts within the framework of the artistic narrative, and the genre specifics of the modern directors’ works. The purpose of the study is to reveal the lack-of-freedom images in the feature films, as well as their genre specifics. The author notes that realism prevails in the films but the directors also boldly turn to naturalism and the grotesque. The novelty of the study consists in the author’s consideration of cinema as a way for artistic understanding of the traumatic experience of the Caucasian people, which presents the real historical events through the analysis of the personal experience of the characters in the narrative. The directors depict modern times, but the outcomes are tightly linked with the past, which actualizes the discussion about the “public history”. Historical memory seems to be woven into the narrative and is determined by the context, dialogues and visual imagery. The directors turn to historical material but masterfully combine the documentary and the fiction in the artistic space. The continuity of the literary tradition in depicting the Caucasus as a separate world with its own values and worldview is emphasized. The author comes to the conclusion that experiencing the lack of freedom is the main state of individual characters and society in the analysed films. The state of being caught between the old patriarchal world, where life is unbearable, and the new one, which is full of uncertainty, results in denial, rebellion or escape.

Guest Workers and Non-Aligned Friends: Postsocialist and Postcolonial Solidarity in Želimir Žilnik’s Recent Films about Migration

ABSTRACT This article examines the intersections of historic and contemporary trajectories of migration in Želimir Žilnik’s latest films. Docudrama Logbook Serbistan (2015) and feature film The Most Beautiful Country in the World (2018) focus on contemporary African and Asian migrants who cross the Balkan route to the European Union. Both films place in conversation the histories of emigration to western Europe from (post)colonial countries and (post)socialist eastern Europe, highlighting the migrants’ shared economic alienation from European prosperity. In turn, documentary Our Man in Gabon (2014) addresses the legacy of the Non-Aligned Movement, which sent many socialist Yugoslav companies and workers to construction sites across the Global South. The films highlight the extent to which Yugoslav socialism depended on migration—the export of to both western Europe and the Global South—which, along with its legacy of Non-Aligned anticolonialism, creates potential for solidarity with contemporary migrants traveling across the Balkans.

New Cold War Nostalgia in Recent U.S. Cultural Productions: Retro and Irony in the Transnational Postsocialist World

ABSTRACT This article examines the intersection of nostalgia, irony, and retro in “new Cold War” story lines that dominate two U.S. cultural productions—the feature film Creed II (2018) and the series Comrade Detective (2017). Both cultural productions anchor themselves in and re-create the Cold War past by addressing multiple audiences in the postsocialist space, Western Europe, and the United States. Creed II and Comrade Detective engage in nostalgia for the 1950s when the U.S. nation became a superpower in the context of late twentieth-century U.S. efforts to maintain that status. Both cultural productions address narratives of American exceptionalism. Creed II develops more regressive forms of nostalgia that update older formulas of U.S. identity for new generations, while maintaining Cold War binary oppositions and the triumphalist narrative of victory over European state socialism. In contrast to Creed II, the Amazon produced series Comrade Detective re-creates a Cold War past in more playful and progressive retro mode, marking an evolution of U.S. new Cold War nostalgia into a more multilayered and transnational phenomenon.

Советская символика и использование венгерского языка в трех венгерских художественных фильмах начала 1950-х годов

The paper aims to reveal Soviet symbols in Hungarian feature films made in the early 1950s. Using the films “Civil a pályán” (Civilians on the Field, 1951), “Becsület és dicsőség” (Honor and Glory, 1951) and “Dalolva szép az élet” (Singing Makes Life Beautiful, 1950) as examples, the work analyses the details appearing in the feature films that may be in some way associated with the Soviet Union (internal and external spaces; people’s dress; objects other than pieces of decoration; verbal references and songs; a Soviet visitor; other aspects related to everyday life). The author identifies forms of address used by the characters indicating the relationship between various groups (namely, communist leaders, workers, saboteurs). Scientific novelty lies in proving that there is strong Soviet influence in the analysed feature films, since not only visible Soviet symbols, but also verbal references and even a case of a Soviet worker appearing in person were discovered. The research findings showed that forms of address in the feature films under consideration helped to clearly define a hierarchy in the depicted society, highlighting the importance of the community of workers and reflecting an awareness of collectivism.

Analysis of the Female Characters in "Blood Goddess" from the Perspective of Lacan's Mirror Theory

Written and directed by Yazhe Yang, the Taiwanese film "Blood Goddess" won the Best Feature Film Award at the 54th Taiwan Film Golden Horse Awards. The film tells the story of the heroine, Tang Zhen, who, after experiencing various subversive blows and self-alienation in the fierce battle of politicians under the dark 1980s, eventually transforms into a new generation of ruthless "Mrs. Tang After experiencing various subversive blows and self-alienation, she finally transforms into a new generation of ruthless "Mrs. Tang" and realizes the real subject pursuit. This paper uses French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan's core theory - mirror theory - to start the analysis, discussing how the protagonist Tang really grows from an "angel" to a "demon" step by step, thus making a deeper understanding of the film.

V. Silvestrov’s Chamber Symphony “Spectra” in the context of avant-garde tendencies of Ukrainian culture of the 1960s

Statement of the problem. At present, the creative personality of Valentyn Silvestrov appears to be significant taking into account a well-established mission of the artist as a spokesman of the Ukrainian art of today on a global scale. Today in the conditions of historical challenges and victorious endurance of Ukraine, the chamber symphony “Spectra” (1965), created over 50 years ago, is actualized as a manifestation of free thinking. Neither in national nor in the world musicology has this work been the subject of special research; this fact determines the relevance of the topic of the scientific research. Analysis of recent research and publication. The works by O. Horodetska and O. Opanasiuk are devoted to the study of V. Silvestrov’s work in the context of avant-garde tendencies of Ukrainian culture of the 1960s. The main objective of the study is to consider V. Silvestrov’s chamber symphony “Spectra” in the context of avant-garde tendencies of Ukrainian culture of the 1960s. The scientific novelty of the research findings is closely related to the actualization of the study of the chamber symphony “Spectra”, which is of considerable interest for Ukrainian music science in the context of the study of avant-garde trends in Ukrainian culture of the 1960s. The concept of the research is based on the following scientific approaches: historical-cultural, genre, stylistic, structural-functional. In addition, the semantic and hermeneutic methods were employed. Results. The artistic community of Kyiv in the 1960s played an important role in the formation of underlying aesthetic principles of V. Silvestrov’s early style. The composer belonged to the creative group “Kyiv avant-garde”. Individual artists of the group played a crucial role in the creation of V. Silvestrov’s “Spectra” (1965). The name of the symphonic composition is directly connected with the dramaturgy of S. Paradjanov’s unfinished feature film “Kyiv Frescoes” (1965). “Spectra” is a three-movement symphony for chamber orchestra. The musical language of the work is based on the involvement of sonorous sounds, pointillism and aleatorics. Freedom of embodiment of the author’s expression is revealed at all levels: speech, composition, style. Conclusion. The Symphony “Spectra” for Chamber Orchestra (1965) reflects the early period of V. Silvestrov’s work. It was important to take into account the cross-cultural context when considering the early period of the composer’s work. It is about the work of the creative group “Kyiv avant-garde”, which became a unique phenomenon in the musical culture of the Ukrainian sixties. The chamber symphony “Spectra” is a special type of symphony and is the embodiment of the originality of the artistic thinking of V. Silvestrov.

Dönem dizilerinde karakter betimlemeleri: Payitaht Abdülhamid

Dizi izleyicileri arasında görme engelli bireyler de olduğu için onların dizileri takip edebilmelerini sağlayan, diyaloglar arasındaki boşluk sürelerine sığacak şekilde ek bir anlatının üretilip seslendirilmesi yani dizilerin sesli betimlenmesi medya erişilebilirliği alanında yapılan önemli çeviri uygulamalarından biridir. Dizi betimlemelerinde sinema filmlerinde olduğu gibi konu edilen öykünün temel unsurlarından biri olan çeşitli karakterlerin ayırt edici yönlerinin hangi koşullarda, nasıl, ne ölçüde ve ne zaman betimlenebileceği metin yazarlığı görevini yapan çevirmenlerin irdelediği sorunlar arasında yer alır. Gert Vercauteren (2014) bu sorunlara anlatıbilimden yararlanarak sistematik nitelikte bir model sunmak suretiyle çözüm getirmeyi hedeflemiştir. Özünde işlevselliğe dayanan söz konusu modele göre görme engelli seyirci sahnede film karakteriyle ilk kez karşılaşıyorsa onu tanımasına yardımcı olabilecek fiziksel, davranışsal/iletişimsel veya zihinsel özellikler betimlenir. Öte yandan karakter önceki sahnelerden biliniyorsa onun sahnedeki durumuna göre yani yeni bir özelliğinin ortaya çıkması veya değişmesi, zaman, mekân veya gerçekleşen eylemlerle ilişkilerinin farklı bir boyut kazanmasına bağlı olarak betimleme içeriğinin düzenlenmesi önerilmektedir (Vercauteren, 2016: 12-13). Bu çalışmada Osmanlı padişahı Sultan II. Abdülhamid’in tahtta kaldığı son on üç yılında verdiği mücadeleyi anlatan Payitaht Abdülhamid adlı diziden seçilen bölümlerdeki sahnelerden verilen örneklerle karakterlerin betimlenme süreci Vercauteren’in modelini esas alarak incelenmiştir. Sonuç olarak, işlenen model tür ayırt etmeksizin genel olarak betimlenecek farklı türde filmler için tasarlanmış olsa da, betimleme metninin belli bir tarihsel döneme özgü dizi karakterlerini anlatan kısmının seyirci gereksinimlerine uygun üretilmesinde çevirmene değineceği görsel unsurları belirlemeye yönelik dizi metnini çözümleme aşamasında pratiklik sağladığı ve zaman kazandırdığı saptanmıştır.

SGaawaay K‘uuna

At the intersection of Indigenous language socialization, linguistic preservation of endangered languages, and a sociocultural anthropology of Indigenous media, lies how Indigenous languages are being revitalized by film and the production process. The critically acclaimed production of the first all Haida language feature film, SGaawaay K‘uuna: Edge of the Knife (2018), tells an inspiring story of bringing hope to the elders, Indigenous language to the youth, and a passionate revitalization of language and community with its radical approach to language revitalization through its community-driven production process.

In Interview: On the Development of Video in the Theatre

German film artist Jan Speckenbach ingeniously contributed to the development of live video on the stage, and this discussion focuses on his education, as well his as experimental collaborations with director Frank Castorf at the Volksbühne Berlin, starting in 2000. Speckenbach’s background in film and media studies facilitated his explorations of uncharted territory in the theatre, going from a set of fixed cameras on the stage to the use of a camera crew with live-editing for augmented images as part of the whole directing concept and process. His first-hand insights into how actors have interacted with this new technology and how filmmaking can be an integral part of the theatre indicate clearly that filmmaking has played an invaluable role in recent theatre history. Speckenbach here also speaks of his collaborations with other directors, notably Sebastian Hartmann and René Pollesch, and about the future perspectives of this technology, which has changed the theatre altogether.Jan Speckenbach studied art history, philosophy, and media in Karlsruhe, Munich, and Paris during the 1990s. At the beginning of the new millennium he participated in the development of video theatre with Frank Castorf and, now a successful filmmaker, he also continues to work in the theatre. His short film Gestern in Eden [Yesterday in Eden] premiered at Cannes in 2008, while the full-length feature film Die Vermissten [The Missing] was shown at the 2012 Berlinale and Freiheit [Freedom] at the 2017 film competition at Locarno. In 2020 he directed the live-stream of Der Zauberberg [The Magic Mountain, after Thomas Mann’s novel] at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin (premiered online in November 2019), which was subsequently invited to the Berlin Theatertreffen. Thomas Irmer is the editor-in-chief of the Berlin-based monthly Theater der Zeit. He has co-edited two books on the work of Frank Castorf – Zehn Jahre Volksbühne Intendanz Frank Castorf (2003) and Castorf (2016). During the last forty years he has authored, among other significant writings, numerous analytical articles and interviews on Castorf’s creative output.

Private desires, public narratives: the intersection of sexuality and cultural citizenship in Danish state-supported cinema

ABSTRACT There is considerable scholarship to support the idea that shared cultural narratives—about what it means to belong, to contribute, to be of value—are very effectively mediated through the mass media, and, in particular, through popular fictional formats such as feature film. This article analyses two contemporary, state-supported Danish films, Nymphomaniac, Director’s Cut and Dronningen (Queen of Hearts), arguing that these cultural artefacts explore the notion of cultural citizenship: a mode of citizenship that I define as the capacity to speak and be heard, and which cultivates a sense of belonging. Through their portrayal of sexually transgressive female characters, these films grapple with and subvert the gendered expectations around femininity, appearing to reinforce the international reputation of Denmark as a politically progressive state. By situating these depictions within their broader social context, though, I illustrate how they present the agency to use one’s own voice as a right that is not, in fact, possessed equally by all citizens. Building on existing literature on cultural citizenship and the Scandinavian welfare state system, I advocate for increased scholarly attention to the role of cinema in creating space for identification and the exploration of belonging.

The construction of family in German feature films in the digital era

This paper critically examines images of domestic life in German cinema in the digital era. Based on the assumption that the film medium in Germany, which is largely sponsored by the state, reflects struggles for legitimate meaning, the discourse analysis of 20 outstanding German feature films dealing with family matters from the past decade reveals that despite cultural and technological changes, national film output mainly constructs idealistic family scenarios that plead for cohesion and are hardly progressive.