International Film Research Articles

Representation of Women's Loyalty Values in the Film Pilgrimage by Bw Purba Negara (Semiotic Analysis of Roland Barthes)

In the 2017 Asean International Film Festival and Award, Ziarah received four awards, including Best Screenplay (BW Purba Negara), Best Actress (Ponco Sutiyem), Best Director (BW Purba Negara) and Best Film. The film is a drama genre that tells the story of a character named Mbah Sri, a 95-year-old woman who is looking for her husband (Prawiro Said) because he never came home and never even heard from him after saying goodbye to the Second Military Aggression war in 1984. The storyline is entirely based on Mbah Sri as the heir to the memory of the historical events experienced by her husband. This study uses a qualitative approach using Roland Barthes' semiotic analysis. Semiotic analysis is a way or method to analyze and give meanings to symbols that contain a package of symbols, symbols, messages or textsThis research uses a qualitative approach using Roland Barthes' semiotic analysis. In conclusion, the representation of women's loyalty values in the film Ziarah by BW Purba Negara is depicted through the actions and characteristics of couples who are still loyal even though their partners have no news. Mbah Sri still thinks about her partner and tries to find her again at all costs. He did not give up on the search process until he finally rediscovered his true love in his old age.

Trends and Influencing Factors in Film Box Office: A Study on Chinese Domestic and International Films

At present, box office performance has become one of the critical indicators of a film's success. Both domestic and international film markets have shown steady growth; however, the box office performance of different films varies significantly. In light of this, this paper focuses on the box office development of domestic and foreign films, reviewing and analyzing the factors that influence the box office performance of many films. Additionally, a comparative analysis between domestic and foreign films is conducted. According to research findings, the primary factors affecting the box office performance of domestic films include the "mainstream" theme, storyline, realistic social topics, release timing, and multimedia promotion. In contrast, the factors influencing the box office performance of foreign films mainly involve the production company, country of origin, type of film, technological innovation, and online reputation. Based on these findings, this paper further analyzes the shortcomings that have led to the box office failures of both domestic and foreign films. Furthermore, recommendations for enhancing box office performance, applicable to all films, are proposed from four dimensions: film content, filming technology, market timing, and marketing strategies.

Lost in translation: Barbie and subtitle discrepancies in China

I examine the subtle yet impactful subtitle translation errors in the Chinese version of Barbie (2023). These translation missteps undermine the film's feminist narratives and representations of gender, which reveals the translations’ capacity to distort the original English screenplay. Employing an interdisciplinary approach that integrates film studies, feminist theory and translation studies, I emphasise the instrumental role of subtitles as not just linguistic tools but narrative constructs that significantly influence the shaping and affirmation of gender identities. The analysis illuminates the pivotal role of subtitles in reflecting and shaping societal norms, offering insights for developing more culturally sensitive and empowered translation methodologies in the realm of international cinema.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: A Translation Analysis of Culture Load Words Through the Perspective of Post-Colonialism

Post-colonial translation theory examines translation research from a brand new view. It begins to take into account the factors outside of the text that affect translation. Said’s view reveals the political character of post-colonial translation. Homi K. Bhabha‘s third space theory has attracted wide attention due to its great view and inclusive spirit. The film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a representative success of Chinese films in the international film field. The success of the film comes from both the rich Chinese culture and the naturalized translation strategy. Through case analysis, this article finds that in the process of subtitle translation of the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the meaning of some cultural loaded words cannot be completely and comprehensively transformed. This is related to the characteristics of subtitle translation and also to the cultural habits of the target groups of the film. The article proposes that such a translation strategy is conducive to Chinese films to find a place in the market, but we can also find a balance between retaining the culture and seizing the market.

Generic overlap as a mode of (social) production in Portuguese silent non-fiction film: the case of A Covilhã Industrial, Pitoresca e seus Arredores (1921)

ABSTRACT The article offers a contribution to the international debate on non-fiction film genres in the silent period by proposing a historically and socially informed analysis of ‘generic overlap’ in the Portuguese documentary A Covilhã Industrial, Pitoresca e Seus Arredores (1921) [Industrial and Picturesque Covilhã, and Its Outskirts]. Made by Artur Costa de Macedo (1894–1966) for Invicta Film, a short-lived but prolific production company based in the North of Portugal, the film is a composite of different genres, such as the travelogue, the scenic view, the actuality, the industrial process film, and the local film. While in keeping with well-established international film practices, this kind of generic overlap also reflects the specific set of constraints and opportunities that the filmmaker encountered (and, respectively, sought to overcome and take advantage of) when he took on this film commission. Local newspaper research, though selective and incomplete, was crucial for gaining a deeper knowledge of this film’s local and regional underpinnings. The article also discusses the film’s 2002 restoration in light of its generic overlap, considering how genre-bound and genre-blind decisions resulted in a ‘new version’ and a ‘new original’ that sought to address a new set of concerns and scale configuration. It concludes that filmic genre has played (and continues to play) an active role in creating and sustaining social goals and relations in both silent filmmaking and film restoration projects.

An international film dosimetry intercomparison to establish a multi-center audit framework.

In 2021, a Technical Meeting was hosted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) where it was recommended that a standardized method for assessing the accuracy of film dose calculations should be established. To design an audit that evaluates the accuracy of film dosimetry processes. To propose a framework for identifying out-of-tolerance results and to perform an international pilot study to test the audit design. Six members of an international Dosimetry Audit Network (DAN) developed an audit for radiochromic film dosimetry. A single host center provided the materials to each participating DAN member to conduct the audits. Materials included: (1) a set of two irradiated audit films (10 Sq: 10cm × 10cm, 15 Sq: 15cm × 15cm), (2) a reference calibration film set, and (3) a blank sheet of film. The participants were blinded to the dose and tasked with producing dose maps using their standard film dosimetry process. Average Region-Of-Interest (ROI: 2cm × 2cm) dose was measured from the dose maps and compared to the known dose. In the audit, all participants used their local scanning and software protocols. Film calibration was performed in two distinct ways: (1) using a calibration film set which was provided by the host center and (2) using a calibration film set which was locally irradiated. Several variations of the audit were also performed to examine how scanning and software processing can affect film dosimetry results. In the first variation of the audit (VariantA), a set of film scans was processed using five different software solutions. In the second variation of the audit (VariantB), all films were scanned on the same scanner and processed using two in-house software solutions. Taking one film scan from each participant, the standard deviations (1σ) (SD) in the dose returned from the host calibration and returned from the local calibration were±7.2% and±6.5% respectively, with variations from -12.4% to 12.9% of the known dose. The larger dose variations in the data set were attributed to the corrections applied for variations in scanner brightness during processing and incorrectly assigned calibration doses. When the raw image data set was processed by an expert user of each software solution (VariantA) the SDs were±2.7% and±3.7% for in-house and vendor-based software, respectively. When the films were scanned on a single scanner and processed with the two in-house software solutions (VariantB) the results had a SD of±2.3%. An audit has been designed and tested for radiotherapy film dosimetry at an international level. A framework for diagnosing issues within a film dosimetry process has been proposed that could be used to audit centers that use film as a dosimeter. Incorporating quality assurance throughout the film process is important in obtaining accurate and consistent film dosimetry. A better understanding of vendor-based software systems is necessary for users to process accurate and consistent film dosimetry.

A Study on Subtitling Translation from a Multimodal Pragmatic Perspective: A Case Study of the English Subtitles of Return to Dust

Return to Dust is an outstanding mainland Chinese film that was nominated for the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. This paper, using the theories of conversational implicature and the relevance principle, explores the implicit meanings in the film's subtitles from a multimodal perspective. It also examines whether the subtitling translation of the film is reasonable and appropriate. The paper argues that the subtitling translation should pay more attention to the cultural context of the dialogues and the pragmatic ambiguities within the film. By doing so, it can better convey the plot and adopt more suitable translation techniques and methods.

Dubbing murder: censorship and manipulation in the Italian dubbing of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope

ABSTRACT In the Italian context, censorial interventions and film manipulation through the practice of dubbing are not restricted to the Fascist era. In the decades that followed, official organisations continued to oversee film distribution of both domestic and international films, frequently withholding permission for public screenings when films did not conform to the conservative ideas espoused by those in power. In the 1950s, cinema was still regarded as a dangerous medium capable of influencing audiences and causing moral degradation. As a result, dubbing was still actively employed to change the linguistic content of films and make them more consistent with the Christian Democratic Party’s traditional values. This article examines an extreme case of film manipulation achieved through dubbing: Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope. The 1956 dubbed version of the movie can be considered at all effects an adaptation of the original: the suppression of the political and ideological components of the film, deemed immoral and perverse, significantly altered the plot and reduced the subversive nuances of all characters. Through an examination of archival documents preserved at the Ministry of Culture in Rome, I will show how censorship interfered to invisibly rewrite Rope, transforming it into a more reassuring and classic crime story.

Attempting an Ontology of Participatory Film

In this video-essay, participatory filmmaker, Paul Cooke, and social anthropologist, Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers, discuss in detail images from two activist-focussed, participatory video projects Cooke has run with young people in South Africa and Lebanon. They ask whether participatory film can communicate their creators’ activist intentions to audiences often far removed from the original context of production. They challenge themselves to answer this question by deliberately juxtaposing their respective disciplines’ distinct philosophical approaches to ontology. Bazin’s foundational discussion of the ontology of the photographic image (as a universally relatable ‘essence’ encapsulated in the image) is juxtaposed with anthropology’s ‘ontological turn’ (a radical cultural-relativist focus on people and contextually situated meaning). The video-essay reflects on whether the young participant filmmakers’ aesthetic choices generate images which speak for themselves or, alternatively, whether the transfigurations these images undergo through different registers of representation and curation – as the films move from community showcasing event to international film festival or academic setting – change their originally-intended meanings. In identifying tensions between proximity and distance, intimacy and exploitation, the potentials and limitations of mediating local activists’ voices to remote audiences through film is left up to the spectator for final arbitration.

Alcohol imagery in popular films in China, 2001-2020.

This study aims to identify the level and trend of alcohol imagery in popular films in China from 2001 to 2020. We divided the running time of the annual 20 top-grossing films in China into 5-min intervals and coded those containing alcohol imagery, the presence of warnings, whether the imagery was related to minors and alcohol brands. Results showed that alcohol imagery occurred in 90.75% (363/400) of the films and 25.26% (2380/9423) of the intervals; these proportions remained stable over time. No film containing alcohol imagery had warnings, alcohol imagery related to minors appeared each year, and 103 alcohol brands were present in 185 intervals across 93 of the 400 films. Chinese films contained more alcohol imagery than international films. National policies are required to restrict alcohol imagery in films and to reduce the availability of such films for viewing by young people.

Communicating science through films: the case of the International Festival of Scientific and Educational Film (1956–1975)

ABSTRACT The Rassegna Internazionale del film Scientifico-didattico (International Festival of Scientific and Educational Film [IFSEF]) was a pioneering science-based public event held at the University of Padova from 1956 to 1975 in collaboration with the Venice International Film Festival. The IFSEF is treated as a case of a multiform space to question the permeable boundaries between hard scientific content and its aesthetic dimension, educational role, and science communication activity. Through the notions of ‘surplus of meaning’, ‘boundary object’ and ‘boundary space’, which are concepts at the intersection of science and technology studies, film studies and media studies, the IFSEF emerges as a distinctive moment in the construction of science as a multiform object in society, thus providing an opportunity to analyse the management of the evolving boundaries between scientific expertise and science communication at the dawn of modern science communication practice. The main point that emerges from the analysis of the IFSEF is the idea that the identity, meanings, structures and logics that characterise the IFSEF in many ways reflect crucial issues at the heart of the historical evolution of the boundaries between science and society, between the scientific community and other social actors, and between scientific epistemologies and different views of science-related content, thus contributing to a redefinition of the roles and identities of the actors involved in the configuration of the festival.

The Offline Maintenance of the First International Film Festival During COVID-19: Institutional Adjustments and Participants’ Response

The FIRST International Film Festival was one of the only international festivals to have continued with offline and in-person activities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic years of 2020 to 2022. This article uses archival sources to investigate how the festival was able to continue and develop throughout the pandemic period. Through analysis of the festival’s industry positioning and the response of the managing stakeholders and participants to the uncertain pandemic environment, the article reveals to what extent the pandemic affected the festival in terms of its annual operation, framework, and component sections. By using an institutional approach, it demonstrates the adjustment, growth and maintenance of the festival in the pandemic context. The article argues that the festival’s distinctive nodal role as a cultivation platform for new emerging talent allowed it to sustain offline activities throughout the pandemic.

Assessing Translation of Humor in The English Subtitles of Goodbye Mr. Loser

Humor is primarily influenced by both the source and target language cultures, which poses significant challenges for translators. Given the continuous emergence of comedy movies, humor plays a crucial role in cultural expression. However, research on the assessment of translation quality of humor in movie subtitles in China remains limited. This study aims to categorize the translation techniques using Pedersen’s typology (2005, 2011) and assess the translation quality of the humorous content in the English subtitles of the Chinese comedy movie Goodbye, Mr. Loser (2015). Goodbye, Mr. Loser is one of the most successful comedy movies in China in recent years, selling 1.441 billion yuan at the box office and winning an award at the China New Era International Film Festival, while also gaining a lot of attention overseas. This study analyzes the accuracy of the English subtitles based on Newmark’s (1988) framework. In his model, Newmark (1988) assesses the accuracy by looking at the accurate reflection of the semantic, contextual, register and style of the ST in TT. Additionally, it adopts a questionnaire for non-Chinese speakers following Nababan, Nuraeni and Sumardiono’s (2012) approach to assess the acceptability and readability of the English subtitles. The significance of this study lies in its potential to enhance the quality of Chinese audiovisual products, reduce language barriers, foster effective cross-culture communication, and provide a valuable reference for the humor translation in Chinese comedy movies in the future.

Semiotic Power in Films of Apichatpong Weerasethakul

This research aims to analyze the semiotic power in the films of Apichatpong Weerasethakul through a qualitative study approach. The researcher employs methods of textual and contextual analysis, utilizing semiotics theory and intermedial references, including intermedial topography. Data are collected from films, articles, interviews, and critiques. Additionally, in-depth individual interviews are conducted to reflect and support the data obtained from film analysis. The selection of purposive sampling focuses on feature-length entertainment films where Apichatpong Weerasethakul serves as both the screenwriter and director, and the films have received awards or nominations at international film festivals such as Cannes. The total number of films selected for analysis is five: "Blissfully Yours" (2002), "Tropical Malady" (2004), "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives" (2010), "Cemetery of Splendour" (2015), and "Memoria" (2021). The research findings reveal that semiotic analysis, following semiotics theory, delves deep into the films, encompassing both denotative and connotative meanings. It emphasizing themes like medicine and public health, forests, myth, gender, politics, memory, love, sleep, truth & illusion, marginal people, time, instinct, and orchids. Through intermedial analysis, the use of symbols to create meaning is evident, fostering diverse media networks that broaden understanding and interpretation. These symbols span various genres such as auteur, ghosts of Thai folklore, experimental, sci-fi, Hollywood, and postmodernist. In-depth interviews correlate with themes of semiotic power related to forests, politics, medicine, and public health, facilitating creative exchanges. Even without direct communication, symbols convey connotative meanings effectively. With their performance skills and memories, the director and actors act as intermediaries, fostering profoundly meaningful works.

XR support in the frame: the creative extended reality ecosystem in Australia

ABSTRACT Extended Reality (XR) is an emerging creative industry in Australia, and practitioners have had broad success in the international film festival circuit. This paper presents the results of a sector analysis conducted in late 2020 by the authors for their non-profit organization Frame Documentary. The analysis was designed to learn about the barriers to developing and producing non-fiction creative work in Australia using new technologies. We found that despite the international visibility of Australian XR practitioners, the domestic XR sector does not yet have access to strong and tailored support structures. While international XR artists have access to numerous funds, labs and mentorship programmes, Australian creative XR is developed and funded via the mainstream Australian screen industry – broadcasters, state and federal screen funding agencies, or is developed completely outside of dedicated screen support structures. Through a wide range of interviews with creative XR practitioners, as well as industry supporters and observers (including early career artists, award-winning practitioners, international sister organizations, festivals, funding agencies and commissioners), we identified six core areas of concern to the industry. We suggest that initiatives targeted at these areas can help to build a stronger, more sustainable and more diverse creative XR sector in Australia.

Paradigmatic-Syntagmatic Structure Relation in the Narrative of Animated Music Video “Sabda Alam” as a Campaign Design for Endemic Birds in Indonesia

There are many media campaign models, one of which is an animated music video. In 2021, an animated music video entitled “Sabda Alam” by students of SMK Raden Umar Said (RUS) Kudus won appreciation from national and international filmmakers at the Balinale International Film Festival 2021. As an audio visual-based campaign design, “Sabda Alam” has become one of the creative economic product models produced by vocational high school students. This video presents a narrative about the life of endemic birds in Indonesia that are threatened with extinction. The urgency of the issue of endangered species underlies the importance of this study to analyze the structure of visual narratives in animated music video designs that is able to carry campaign messages in ways that attract attention. This research uses a combination method, namely qualitative and quantitative analysis using a paradigmatic and syntagmatic structural approach in semiotic theory. Qualitatively, examines the visual narrative of animated music videos based on three storyline structures, namely the beginning, middle, and ending storyline. In each part of the storyline, analysis refers to the visualization of visual signs of the subject, event, and setting in the scene. While quantitatively, this study formulates the audience's level of understanding of the campaign message in the animated music video. The results of the analysis of the structure of the visual narrative show that there are paradigmatic associations from the scenes that link the existence of interest as a message clue. While syntagmatically, analysis refers to the existence of a function in the scene about something. The two are interrelated to produce a campaign message about the importance of protecting endemic birds in Indonesia. This study can be an academic reference, both in vocational high schools and universities, in developing inspiring campaign media designs in the creative industry.

Decentering the Narrative

Violeta Kovacsics reports from the 2024 edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), where festival director Vanja Kaludjercic—whose appointment coincided with the pandemic years—finally was able to showcase her vision for the festival’s future. Maintaining Rotterdam’s reputation for new discoveries (almost half its screenings were world premieres), along with its commitment to avant-garde and political cinema, Kaludjercic amplified the presence of animation and made world cinema a focus, not a sidebar. Films discussed include Rei (Tanaka Toshihiko, 2024), winner of the 2024 Tiger award, Under a Blue Sun (Daniel Mann, 2024), Swimming Home (Justin Anderson, 2024), The Ballad of Suzanne Césaire (Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich, 2024), Grey Bees (Dmytro Moiseiev, 2024), and Eco Village (Phoebe Nir, 2024)

Can an artist be mature? Rorschach studies of prominent Polish actors

Introduction: The peculiarities of being a prominent actor - the unity of the person and the work, recognition and significance - have made possible new and relevant from the point of view of personality and creativity psychology to analyze using the Rorschach method. Objective: The purpose of the study was to assess the personality maturity, type of experiencing, social contacts of prominent Polish actors by means of a qualitative method. Method: The Rorschach Test according to the American signing system of Z. Piotrowski. The study group consisted of 120 Polish actors: 40 outstanding Polish actors, also known in the world from international films or received awards (group A), 40 actors working in theaters in large cities (B), 40 actors employed in theaters in small cities(C). The groups were matched for age (M= 44.7 years, SD 9.31). Results: Analysis of the level of differences in maturity proved statistically significant. The study showed indicators of rivalry, which can stimulate aggressive behavior, for example, but the overall profile indicates good adaptation and control of emotions. The psychogram was dominated by signatures indicating an ambidextrous, differentiated type of experiencing,signifying creative imagination, a tendency to reflect, which is at the same time balanced by external activity,good adaptation. Discussion: The respondents' life activity is characterized by decisiveness, with a tinge of aggression. This attitude can be a cause conflicts with people who may be perceived as rivals, the results of other researchers also indicate. Conclusions: The study of prominent actors using the Rorschach test was conducted for the first time on such a scale, providing many valuable findings. Keywords: Rorschach Test, type of experiencing, emotional sphere, interpersonal relations

Renegotiating Jia Zhangke’s Contestious Auteurism on Douban

Abstract This article focuses on sixth-generation mainland Chinese auteur Jia Zhangke and examines how his independent filmmaker’s profile is renegotiated and reevaluated on Douban, a China-based platform for cultural commentary. Whereas Douban allows viewers to rate a film, post a review of any length, and comment on other posts, it manifests a self-censoring tendency with sustained state control. Examining in Jia’s contentious auteurism through a “post-independent’ lens, this article recounts how Douban users approach and interpret Jia’s more recent titles such as Ash Is Purest White (2018) and Swimming Out till the Sea Turns Blue (2020) that pose a question of whether Jia’s auteurism is perpetuated. The account extends to the controversies surrounding Jia’s departure from and re-entry to the independently-run, government-supported Pingyao International Film Festival, which took place in 2020 and 2021 and have further perplexed his established brand. Contextualizing Jia’s Douban-represented authorial identity in China’s platform-based cultural production, this analysis unravels the intricate dynamics of market logic, state governance, and audience agency in the rise of the mass media-saturated intertextuality and crossover capitals.

Conference Report

A report on the 2023 International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) Symposium held in Mexico City. The symposium’s theme was “Women, Cinema, and Film Archives,” and the event included presentations by archivists, curators, and scholars on women’s leadership in international film archives, the history of women’s participation in FIAF, and current initiatives in feminist archiving and curation. Still, much work remains to be done. We must ask broader questions about how gender has informed collecting, curating, and cataloging practices; how gender shapes women’s ideas about their own labor; and how histories of cinema are transformed by including women’s work at all levels as filmmakers, film laborers, and film archivists.