[Commlist] CFP: ReFocus: The Films of the Dardenne Brothers

*/_CFP: ReFocus: The Films of the Dardenne Brothers_/*

/Edited by Jamie Steele/

We are currently looking for abstracts (approx. 150 - 200 words) for 
book chapters to be included in an edited collection on the Dardenne 
brothers films, to be published in 2023.

The Dardenne brothers (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne) have been 
recognised as important filmmakers in European cinema, claiming the 
/Palme d’or/ at Cannes on more than one occasion. The filmmakers’ names 
have become shorthand for film production in Belgium (alongside Chantal 
Akerman and Jaco Van Dormael). They are also perceived as key European 
auteurs, creating and producing films that comment on relevant issues 
and debate in contemporary (Western) Europe and its socio-political 
context(s).

There has been a wide critical and academic engagement with the Dardenne 
brothers films from the 1990s to the early 2000s, with two book-length 
studies of their work (Mai 2010 - /Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne /in the 
Contemporary Film Directors Series; Mosley 2013 - /The Cinema of the 
Dardenne Brothers: Responsible Realism/). As such, we are looking for a 
fresh perspective on the Dardenne brothers’ films, and theoretical and 
methodological examination of their recent work – which has not received 
the same scholarly analysis – from /Le gamin au vélo /(2011)//to /Le 
jeune Ahmed /(2019)/. /Within this re-examination of the Dardenne 
brothers’ work, it could also be extended to an academic analysis of Luc 
Dardenne’s writings on cinema (/Au dos de nos images I and II/) and 
other philosophical reflections (/Sur l’affaire humaine/). This edited 
collection adopts a thematic approach to the Dardenne brothers’ films, 
and it will be organised into two sections. The first section will 
critically analyse the film texts and their social, cultural, ethical 
and philosophical articulations, and the second section will extend 
beyond the Dardennes to consider the importance of collaboration and 
industry perspectives within Belgium and beyond.

Some themes that would benefit from further scholarly attention include:

●Religion/ Christianity in the Dardenne brothers’ films.

●The ethics of the Dardenne brothers’ films

●The Dardenne brothers as European auteurs

●Collaborative authorship and the Dardenne’s filmmaking team (e.g. 
Marie-Hélène Dozo)

●The Dardenne brothers’ films and the modes of production, distribution 
and exhibition

●The representation of childhood in Walloon social realism

●Social Engagements/ Social Justice on screen

●Genre and the Dardenne brothers’ films

●Luc Dardenne and his writings on cinema (/Au dos de nos images I and 
II/) and applied to their films.

The editor is seeking 150-200 word abstracts for chapters to be included 
in an edited collection to be published by Edinburgh University Press’s 
/ReFocus/, a series of film studies anthologies edited by Robert Singer 
(CUNY), Gary D. Rhodes (University of Central Florida) and Stefanie Van 
de Peer (Queen Margaret University). This publication will be designed 
to offer a fresh perspective on the Dardenne brothers’ films, by 
engaging with one of the listed themes. Further ideas, themes and 
approaches will also be considered. Chapters will be approximately 
7,000-8,000 words, referenced in Chicago endnote style.

If you are interested, please attach an author biography and abstract 
and email by *30th July 2021* to the editor at (j.steele /at/ bathspa.ac.uk) 
<mailto:(j.steele /at/ bathspa.ac.uk)>


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