[Commlist] CFP: 12th Small Cinemas International Conference

*CALL FOR PAPERS*

*12th Small Cinemas International Conference* 
<http://smallcinemas2021.org/cfp>
*From Celluloid to Streaming: Conservation and Circulation of Small Cinemas*

Santiago de Compostela October 28-29, 2021

University of Santiago de Compostela. Faculty of Communication Sciences.


The flow of globalization has renewed the debate on centre-periphery 
inequalities. The irruption of new technologies for distributing, 
consuming and archiving cinema pose a challenge to small cinemas already 
fighting for a place in traditional screening venues and events. Small 
cinema products are now part of the Video on Demand gigantic catalogues. 
The so-called algorithm culture perpetuates the unbalance between big 
and small industries.

In this conference, we propose to analyse if the algorithm could be a 
death sentence for small cinemas or could instead bring new 
opportunities. Should small cinemas look for visibility by using tags 
related to popular genres or use smallness or periphery as tags 
themselves are relevant questions for the survival of small productions. 
Could small cinemas create a niche in the bag of Video on Demand (VoD)? 
Could they be independent from cinema venues or film festivals? Are 
there any existing dissemination models to follow? As online 
distribution redefines and makes peripheries visible rather than merge 
them with the centre (Szczepanik et al., 2020), the presence and success 
of small films could inspire new models of distribution, particularly as 
a result of Covid-19 conditions.

The conservation of small cinemas is also a relevant issue when films 
vanish into an increasingly saturated market. Access to films is 
indispensable for drawing a visual imaginary which is part of the nation 
as imagined community (Anderson, 1983). In the last years, some public 
or collaborative initiatives gathered films in minority languages, 
movies difficult to trace and endangered visual materials for posting on 
the Internet, where they are or can be transformed and appropriated by 
users.


Suggested topics:

-The flow centre/periphery in post-globalization and small cinemas.

-Effectiveness of public policies for the circulation of small cinemas.

-Digital market regulations and their effect on small cinemas.

-Exceptions to the rule: successful cases of small cinemas circulation 
on the international market.

-The festival circuit and the positioning of small cinemas.

-Looking for a ‘natural’ audience of small cinemas.

-The impact of Video on Demand on small cinemas.

-Algorithms, audiences and small cinemas.

-The impact of Covid-19 on the circulation/dissemination of small cinemas.

-The preservation of small cinemas as part of the immaterial cultural 
heritage.

-Archives and small cinemas. Avoiding the invisibility of small and 
peripheral cultures.


Deadlines:

Please submit a 300-word proposal by June 10, 2021

Conference Committee Response: July 15, 2021

Upon acceptance of proposals, a short abstract and bio are due: July 31, 
2021


Submissions: CFP – Small Cinemas Conference 2021 (smallcinemas2021.org 
<http://smallcinemas2021.org/cfp>)

Contact: (info /at/ estudosaudiovisuais.gal) <mailto:(info /at/ estudosaudiovisuais.gal)>


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