New Waves and New Cinemas

Launched in 2005, the AHRC National Research Training Network in Modern Languages aims to develop and provide subject-specific research training for UK registered MPhil/PhD students in Modern Foreign Languages, including non-European languages.

Activities are coordinated by different regional hubs across the country. The IGRS administers the scheme and is the hub for London, the South, and Northern Ireland. The University of Birmingham is the hub for the Midlands and Wales, Leeds University for the North of England, and Glasgow University for Scotland.

As part of the scheme’s remit the first of two student-run conferences was held at the University of Leeds on July 8^th 2006. New Waves and New Cinemas brought together modern foreign language PGRs studying film to discuss contemporary cinematic movements worldwide, offering a range of links to their research. Organised by Chris Homewood, a PGR in the German department of the host university, and his student team, the event saw delegates from all over the UK reflect on political and aesthetic changes in recent film history, establishing a historical bridge between contemporary phenomena and the ‘new waves’ of the 50s, 60s and 70s and promoting cross-disciplinary dialogue. From Brazilian to German Cinema, and Serbian to South African post-apartheid film (to name but a few), the programme was diverse.

The full extent and range of the papers given can be viewed here.

For many delegates New Waves and new Cinemas gave them their first experience of delivering a research paper at a formal event. Delegates and attendees were also able to gain first-hand experience in chairing panels with established academic staff on hand for support. The conference was prefaced by a reception in the popular student area of Leeds on the evening prior.

Professor Geoffrey Nowell-Smith delivered the keynote paper, “What is a New Wave?”, in a session chaired by Professor Lúcia Nagib (University of Leeds). Professor Nowell-Smith provided an excellent framework from which to look at individual new waves. He also worked to define and distinguish "new wave" from "new cinema", showing students the importance of conceptual precision. His paper established a historical perspective through which to examine any films or film movements and showed that films are not isolated cases but part of an international network, and none more so than the new waves, which transcended national borders even when their aim was to reaffirm national identities.

Our thanks to all those who participated for making the day such a great success.

keynote

Professor Geoffrey Nowell-Smith

What is a New Wave?

papers

Paul Castro (University of Cambridge)

Terra Estrangeira: Lisbon close-up, seen from afar

Miranda Shaw (Queen Mary)

Women in Brazilian Cinema: from Cinema Novo to Cidade de Deus

Tatiana Heise (University of Leeds)

Violence and social marginalization in Brazilian Cinema

Dušan Radunović (university of Sheffield)

Disposable Freedom: The ‘Black Wave’, ‘Neo-avant-garde’ and the Demise of the Serbian Political Liberalism (1962-1972)

Lizelle Bisschoff (University of Stirling)

A New Wave of South African Cinema: Filmmaking in the post-apartheid era

Nick Hodgin (University of Sheffield)

Clowns, Cannibals, Carnival. Grotesque Responses in Post-Wende Film

Christina Bruns (University of Edinburgh)

All fun on the regional front? New Regional Realities in German Docu Cinema

Shasha Wang (University of Edinburgh)

The Cultural Phenomena of Chinese Cinema in Cross-national Contexts

Daniel Laverick (Nottingham Trent University)

Embracing the world and discovering the local: The search for (an)other identity in Taiwanese cinema

Lorna Dillon (Kings College)

Documentary Film and Dirty Realism in Contemporary Latin Video Narratives

Ingrid Stigsdotter (University of Southampton)

Regional Production and Cross-Cultural Reception: A Case Study of Lukas Moodysson’s Fucking Åmål / Show Me Love

Karolina Ziolo (University of Sheffield)

‘Man of Marble’ struggle with censorship

Anthony De Melo (University of Exeter)

‘Finally, we have our own nouvelle vague.’ Mode of Production and Authorial Control, Cinema Novo Portugues

Charlotte Gleghorn (University of Liverpool)

The dystopian city: Buenos Aires, the body and space in Ana Poliak’s La fé del volcán