[ecrea] CFP The creation and circulation of Chinese Identities in and through cinema

*Call for Papers
The creation and circulation of Chinese Identities in and through cinema*

Chinese Arts Centre, Manchester, UK
29-30 January 2013

The Chinese Film Forum UK, a research network supported by the AHRC, is 
hosting its second symposium. The focus is on the creation and 
circulation of Chinese identities in and through cinema.

Questions of identity and representation have been prominent in film 
studies, including the proliferation of work produced on Chinese cinemas 
to date. However, the question of how identities may be circulated, and 
created, through cinema as a socio-cultural formation and industrial 
product remains to be further explored. For example, what role do genres 
play in identity formation and circulation? How do distribution networks 
and marketing practices impact on what kinds of Chinese films are 
produced and received? Is there a space that exists for multilingualism 
and cultural diversity within Chinese cinemas, and what implications 
might it have for how Chinese cinemas are conceptualised?

We invite proposals on the following or any other topic of relevance:
- The plurality of Chinese cultural, ethnic and linguistic identities in 
film
- Representations of Chineseness as self and other
- Historical adaptations and fictionalisations
- Construction of stars as the mythic embodiments of national identities
- Chinese characters, characterisation and characteristics in 
non-Chinese films
- Chinese diasporic filmmaking, including in South-east Asia, North 
America and the UK
- Genres in Chinese cinemas or Chinese genre-films?
- Theoretical explorations of 'Chineseness' in film
- Questions of identity and international co-productions
- The role of industry practice, e.g. casting, marketing, distribution, 
awards selection, etc.
- Reception of Chinese cinemas in local and foreign markets

Keynote speaker: Professor Chris Berry, King's College London.

150-200 word proposals for papers or contributions and a short biography 
should be sent by 26th October 2012 to both Felicia Chan 
<(Felicia.Chan /at/ manchester.ac.uk) 
<mailto:(Felicia.Chan /at/ manchester.ac.uk)>> and Andy Willis 
<(a.willis /at/ salford.ac.uk) <mailto:(a.willis /at/ salford.ac.uk)>>.

The Chinese Film Forum UK was founded to support the visibility and 
literacy of film from across the Chinese diaspora and is a joint venture 
between University of Manchester, University of Salford, Manchester 
Metropolitan University, the Confucius Institute, Chinese Arts Centre 
and Cornerhouse. Further information can be found at: http://www.cffuk.org