[Commlist] CFP: The Films of Nicholas Winding Refn

ReFocus: The Films of Nicolas Winding Refn

Edited by Dr Eddie Falvey (University of Exeter/Plymouth College of Art) 
and Dr Thomas Joseph Watson (University of Northumbria)

Despite being widely recognised as a key enfant terrible of contemporary 
cinema, the films of Nicolas Winding Refn have received surprisingly 
little sustained academic analysis. His films represent a distinct body 
of work expressive of one of one of the more unique, divisive, and yet 
significant voices in modern cinema. Given the controversy surrounding 
Refn's cinema, from his uses of sex and violence, to his treatment of 
challenging themes, and to his popular reception as a producer of 
art-house exploitation, it is an opportune moment to give Refn's cinema 
the critical scrutiny it invites and, indeed, deserves. Following the 
acclaim that Refn received for the Pusher trilogy (1996-2005), Bronson 
(2008), and especially Drive (2011), the critical reception of Refn’s 
recent cinema has been considerably more divisive, with film critics 
referring to his latter works as “cinematic defecation” (The Observer on 
Only God Forgives [2013]) and “hot garbage” (New York Times on The Neon 
Demon [2016]). Coinciding with Refn's now-considerable status within 
international film discourse – as an auteur filmmaker, a curator of 
exploitation cinema, and now as a TV show-runner, following the release 
of Too Old to Die Young (2019) on Amazon – the editors of this 
collection wish to offer the opportunity for scholars to collect and 
offer a range of perspectives on this fascinating filmmaker. Refn's 
cinema is recognisable for, among other reasons, its striking aesthetic 
qualities, its referential nods to film history, its contravention of 
thematic and generic boundaries, as well as its provocative yet complex 
treatment of themes including sex, violence, excess, celebrity, and 
power. We hope to oversee the development of a diverse cross-examination 
of Refn's impressive body of work, one that offers a range of scholarly 
insights into what is emerging as one of the most distinct filmographies 
in contemporary cinema.

Topics for chapters may include, but are not limited to:
 •	Any of Refn’s feature films
•	Refn’s new TV series Too Old to Die Young •	Refn and film philosophy
•	Treatments of violence and/or sexual violence
•	Refn and gender (especially feminist and/or queer approaches to his work)
•	Cognitive approaches to Refn
•	Refn and treatments of justice and/or revenge
•	National cinema: Refn as a Danish filmmaker
•	Transnational cinema: Refn as a European filmmaker
•	Genre, convention and experimentation
•	Refn and auteur theory
•	Refn as a curator of exploitation film via his website bynwr.com and 
subsequent guest editorials (highlighting films such as The Nest of the 
Cuckoo Birds [1965]), Hot Thrills and Warm Chills [1967], Shanty Tramp 
[1967], and House on Bare Mountain [1962])
•	Refn and celebrity culture
•	Refn and hyperrealism
•	Industrial approaches to Refn
•	Refn and collaboration (i.e. Ryan Gosling, Cliff Martinez, etc.)
•	Refn and performance
•	Aesthetic approaches to Refn’s cinema
•	Your own suggested idea
Submission details

The Films of Nicholas Winding Refn is to be published by the University 
of Edinburgh Press in the newly expanded ReFocus series which now 
includes international as well as American directors. Series editors are 
Prof. Robert Singer, Dr Stefanie van de Peer, and Dr Gary D. Rhodes.
We would like to invite chapter proposals of approximately 250 words, 
accompanied by a short biographical statement.
The deadline for abstract submissions is Friday 20th September 2019 
(with confirmation to be received by Monday 30th September 2019). Please 
address proposals and/or any inquiries to both Eddie and Tom at 
(refocusrefn /at/ gmail.com). Accepted contributors will be expected to submit 
their full chap¬ters of 6,000-8,000 words (including endnotes) by Friday 
28th February 2020.

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