[Commlist] CFP: Nordic Production Studies (special issue of Journal of Scandinavian Cinema)

*Nordic Production Studies*

A special issue of the /Journal of Scandinavian Cinema/ (a double-blind 
peer review journal with Intellect Publishing), July 2020.

Guest editors: Sarah Atkinson (Kings College London), Olof Hedling (Lund 
University), Mette Hjort (Hong Kong Baptist University) and Pietari 
Kaapa (University of Warwick)

Production studies has emerged as a vibrant field in contemporary media 
studies. The work of John Caldwell, Michael Curtin, Toby Miller and 
Mette Hjort have contributed to developing conceptual and theoretical 
approaches to the field, working simultaneously on both global and local 
levels of policy and production management. This work paves the way for 
a media studies that addresses the internal machinations of an industry 
often exhibiting egalitarian and liberal values on a textual level while 
the reality of working conditions tends to diverge considerably from 
these optimistic projections. While there have been studies of above-, 
across-, and below-the-line labour in the Nordic media industries, these 
tend to be focused on communicating with highly specialized interest 
groups (journalists, regulators, film producers, social media marketers 
etc). A much more 'convergent' approach to the labour of professionals 
in the Nordic media industries is clearly required as boundaries between 
roles and levels of professional specialization are increasingly blurring.

/Journal of Scandinavian Cinema/has prioritized this emerging field for 
an upcoming special issue focused on the Nordic creative/media 
industries. The Nordic countries, especially, pose highly complex 
challenges for production studies as they continue to be predicated on 
significant levels of public funding and strict but egalitarian labour 
regulations. The roles of private capital, competition with imported 
products, the challenges of digital platforms, as well as an inherently 
limited scope of the domestic markets of all five countries, translate 
into a complex media environment where production labour and the 
constitution of professional roles is constantly revised, or indeed, 
precarious, as Curtin and Sanson (2015) would argue – this, despite the 
fact that these countries are often promoted as exhibiting some of the 
more stable and sustainable societal infrastructures globally. This, in 
turn, provides the issue with a unique angle on production studies in 
that it highlights the cultural constitution of Nordic production 
management, labour conditions, cultural policy and, even, the ability to 
evaluate how these dynamics are eventually reflected in screen content.

The issue encourages submissions on the following themes and also 
welcomes work outside/combining these areas:

  * The role of film institutes
  * The centrality of public broadcasting infrastructure in Nordic media
    environments
  * Welfare politics (egalitarian opportunities and educational incentives)
  * Gender politics and labour management (Bechdel test and Sweden;
    rejection of quotas and Denmark)
  * “Me Too” and institutional change
  * The role of regional film funds
  * Film consultants as stakeholders and tastemakers
  * The comparative lack of tax incentives in the Nordic countries
  * The role of producers in a publically aided production environment
  * Film schools and professionalisation of media labour
  * Digital platforms and DIY attitudes
  * Crowdfunding and other prosumer tactics
  * Vimeo and ‘unprofessional’ media
  * Labour laws and unionization
  * Specific technical roles (ie. score composer, line manager, caterer,
    VFX artist etc.)
  * Diversity (the consolidation of minority cultures professionals –
    the Sami etc.)

Projected timeline for contributions:

Proposals of 500 words maximum – 31 March 2019

Full article submission (8000 words maximum) – 30 October 2019

All contributions will undergo double blind peer review with publication 
planned for July 2020.

Please email the editors to discuss potential contributions 
((sarah.atkinson /at/ kcl.ac.uk) <mailto:(sarah.atkinson /at/ kcl.ac.uk)>; 
(olof.hedling /at/ litt.lu.se) <mailto:(olof.hedling /at/ litt.lu.se)>; 
(mettehjort /at/ hkbu.edu.hk) <mailto:(mettehjort /at/ hkbu.edu.hk)>, 
(P.Kaapa /at/ warwick.ac.uk) <mailto:(P.Kaapa /at/ warwick.ac.uk)>)


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