Cinemas of the Arab World
Call for papers - special issue of Wide Screen
Editor: Latika Padgaonkar (film scholar, former
Executive Editor, Cinemaya and festival director, Osian's Cinefan Festival)
The Arab world may be bound by language and
religion, but it is in no sense homogeneous,
neither in its history nor in its customs. Yet,
over the years, what has largely been common to
many Arab countries in the field of cinema is a
set of shared problems: decline in film
production, closure of halls consequent to the
video revolution, censorship, issues of
distribution, diminishing investment, narrowing
of the domestic market and the invasion of
American films and television programmes, quite
apart from the pervasive and longstanding
influence of Egyptian cinema to which several
countries were called upon to adjust in an earlier day.
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For all that, a large number of Arab films have,
in recent years, made a mark in the
international arena. These films have been made
in the face of odds ? economic, material and
psychological. They continue to grapple with
their past and, increasingly, with their
present: a past linked to their colonial
experience, war and displacement, and a present
that is trying to shape an identity. The
colonial yoke may have been shed but the region
is now battling turbulent issues of another kind.
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Wide Screen attempts an engagement with cinemas
of the Arab world by asking questions on a
variety of topics that are pertinent to this
region ? from censorship to the new cineema,
from the position of women to the question of
identity, from the implications of foreign
funding to the diversities and similarities of the cinemas of these countries.
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Apart from inviting general articles that may be
specific to a director, film or a theme in Arab
cinema (as a whole or from a particular film
culture), here are a few very broad ideas that
can be incorporated in the suggestions we make
to people who want to write for the journal and
even as guidelines for ourselves.
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* Focus on one director ? an entire sectionn
of the special issue could have articles/essays
and interviews and reviews of films made by one director.
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* Censorship ? articles dealing with
censorrship in Arab cinema. Is it just
censorship of content by the state machinery,
or is it also self-censorship ? a kind of moral
policing done socially.. Is there also a
censorship of form? How accepting is the
audience and the state to non-linear forms? How
much has that changed over the years.
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* Showcasing cinema ? the rest of the worldd
knows precious little about the cinephile
culture in Arab countries despite a growing
cinema culture. Examination of cinema halls,
the kinds of films they showcase, box office
returns etc can be interesting to look at.
Furthermore, what is the kind of give-and-take
with other popular cinemas, for instance
Hollywood and popular Indian cinema. Do locally
produced films get more popular than foreign
films? What is the state and role of film festivals in Arab countries.
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* Articles dealing with Arab audience and also audience of Arab cinema
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* Identity ? film cultures across the
worldd, be they art films or popular ones have
obsessed over questions of a Muslim identity
ever since 9/11. How does Arab cinema engage
with this question? Is Arab cinema (and within
it cinemas of individual countries) put on a
defensive, loaded with the notion of proving
innocence? Apart from content, how does form
deal with this question? The most important
question here is, What is Arab cinema?
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* Women ? when it comes to Arab cinema, a
llook at the representation and position of
women in the film industry is inevitable. How
many women directors are there? Are big actors
ready to work with them? Are female stars paid
as much as their male counterparts. Who are the
directors that are working on issues relating
to women. What is the kind of opposition they have to face.
Deadline for paper submission: 15 March 2009.
Papers can be submitted at:
<http://widescreenjournal.org/index.php/journal/about/submissions#onlineSubmissions>http://widescreenjournal.org/index.php/journal/about/submissions#onlineSubmissions
or emailed to: <mailto:(kuhutanvir /at/ gmail.com)>(kuhutanvir /at/ gmail.com)
Author guidelines, copyright notice and other
information can be accessed at:
<http://widescreenjournal.org/index.php/journal/about/submissions>http://widescreenjournal.org/index.php/journal/about/submissions
