[Commlist] CFP: Approaching Race and Ethnicity in Nordic Film Culture

This is a gentle reminder that the deadline for the /Journal of 
Scandinavian Cinema/’s CFP on race and ethnicity is approaching. Do feel 
free to get in touch if you have any questions.

*CFP: Approaching Race and Ethnicity in Nordic Film Culture *

In 2017, the head of the Swedish Film Institute (SFI), Anna Serner, 
highlighted the distinct lack of ethnic diversity in Swedish film 
culture and signalled ambitions to ‘broaden representation, both behind 
and in front of the cameras’ (2017: 4). Echoing these sentiments, the 
Danish Film Institute (DFI) and the Norwegian Ministry of Culture (NFI) 
have outlined targets for ‘increasing cultural diversity and reaching 
new audiences’ (NFI 2018). These statements reflect the Nordic film 
industries’ aspiration to address the significant underrepresentation of 
black, Asian and minority ethnic voices in the creative sectors across 
the Nordic region.

However, themes of race and ethnicity have long-established patterns of 
representation on Nordic screens (see Wright, 1998, Gustafsson, 2014 and 
Sundholm, 2018). With no established industry voice or body overseeing 
representational diversity, as the above studies attest, cinematic 
depictions of diversity matter precisely because they largely offer the 
only insight into the way these themes are understood and construed. 
Overwhelmingly, white filmmakers produce these examples and, as a 
result, many offer self-critical introspective forms of whiteness. While 
most are well-meaning, often they reflect a liberal perspective that is 
symptomatic of institutionalised notions of inequality within Nordic 
media cultures. First and second-generation filmmakers like Hella Joof, 
Josef Fares, Omar Shargawi and Ali Abbasi have made headway into 
challenging these ideas by producing films that highlight more complex 
and diverse perspectives on Nordic societies, but they have received 
little scholarly attention.

This special issue of the /Journal of Scandinavian Cinema/ focuses on 
race and ethnicity in Nordic film cultures from two overarching 
perspectives: 1) representation and how the politics of diversity and 
hegemony play out in Nordic media texts, and 2) production context, 
addressing equality and concerns of access in the media industries of 
these countries. We particularly welcome discussions on practitioner 
agency, creative labour and articles that draw from wider theoretical 
approaches like critical race theory.


The issue encourages submissions on the following themes, but we also 
welcome work outside or combining these areas:

  * Fiction or documentary films actively engaging with themes or topics
    on race and ethnicity
  * Critical race theory and its applications in a Nordic context
  * Postcolonial/neocolonial narratives
  * Decolonising/de-centring the canon
  * Perspectives or reflections on the industry/policies relating to
    diversity
  * Festivals and educational initiatives
  * Audiences/reception, access and exclusion
  * Sámi and other indigenous filmmakers
  * Themes of migration, asylum and integration
  * Multicultural subjects/communities and intergenerational connections
  * Colour-blind/colour-conscious approaches
  * The role of whiteness in films addressing race
  * Stereotyping and discrimination
  * Investigations of the socio-historic impact of under/misrepresentation
  * POC pioneers in Nordic film histories
  * Diasporic themes
  * Mixed-race and interracial themes and representation
  * Afrofuturism, embodied borderlands and intersectional counterspaces
  * Hollywood appropriations of Nordic narratives/international casting

Projected timeline: Proposals due: *15 January 2021*. Full article 
submission due: *1 May 2021*. All contributions will undergo 
double-blind peer review with publication planned for *January 
2022*. Both Feature articles (6000 words) and Short subjects (2-3000 
words) are welcome.

Please email the guest editors Kate Moffat (Kate.Moffat /at/ warwick.ac.uk) 
<mailto:(Kate.Moffat /at/ warwick.ac.uk)> and Zélie Asava (zelieasava /at/ yahoo.ie) 
<mailto:(zelieasava /at/ yahoo.ie)>to discuss potential contributions.


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