Prazo: 15/06/2021
Data Evento ou Publicação:
Indexação (revistas):
Pagamento:
Deadline for submission of abstracts: 15 June 2021
Timeline for contributions:
Proposals, consisting of a title and a 3-400-word abstract and a short
author’s bio, should be sent to evaj@hum.ku.dk <mailto:evaj@hum.ku.dk>
prior to 15 June 2021.
Notifications of acceptance or non-acceptance will be sent out in early
July.
The submission deadline for accepted, full articles (max 8,000 words) is
15 January 2022. All contributions will undergo double-blind peer review.
Publication is planned for October 2022.
No payment from the authors will be required.
Over the course of less than a decade, the streaming phenomenon – that
is, the online distribution of audiovisual content (mainly films and
series) through pay-per-view or subscription services – has radically
changed cinema’s ecosystem. This issue of Studies in World Cinema sets
out to explore the specific effects of streaming on the production,
distribution and consumption of primarily non-Western cinema. The focus
is not on the American streaming giant Netflix as such – Netflix is
rather used as a generic nomer or shorthand for international streaming
services at large. Yet, there is no denying that Netflix is indeed of
particular interest for its blurring of boundaries within the usual
local/global dialectics, as pointed out by Ramon Lobato in his book
Netflix Nations: The Geography of Digital Distribution (2019).
Netflix is currently available in practically all countries around the
globe (China being the most notable exception), and although the bulk of
its films are mainstream US entertainment fare, Netflix is also keenly
aware that when it comes to programming for an international audience,
one size does not fit all. Across the world, the company is therefore
supplementing its catalogue of American programmes with both licensed
local content and original local films that are either commissioned by
Netflix or, in one way or the other, produced or funded by the streaming
giant.
This raises a number of questions of relevance to the study of world
cinema, such as: Can Netflix (and other companies like it, such as,
e.g., Amazon Prime and HBO GO) be said to benefit world cinema by
enhancing the visibility of films that are otherwise rarely seen outside
their countries of origin and/or the film festival circuit? Do, on the
contrary, local films that are not distributed by Netflix risk becoming
even more invisible for not having this online exposure? And how, if at
all, do Netflix’s algorithms for personalised recommendations affect the
visibility of world cinema? Also, what are the effects of Netflix’s
investments in local production? Do they represent a welcome boost in
funding, or do they come at too high a cost, in the shape of loss of
control and demands for international streamlining of the films
produced, for example? Will production companies that have not yet
caught Netflix’s eye tend to adopt styles and narrative structures
supposedly favoured by Netflix in the hope of attracting funding and/or
gaining visibility, potentially at the expense of local authenticity? Is
there a risk that local audiences – many of whom may not have access to
high-speed internet connections, or the means to pay for streaming –
will be left behind? Will we see a splitting of local film production
into two strands: one geared towards international audiences (and local
urban elites), with sufficient funding to secure a professional mode of
production but out of touch with less affluent local audiences; and
another, more artisanal, locally rooted and perhaps, in some cases,
genuinely popular one, distributed locally but largely invisible to the
outside world? Or, if this division arguably already exists, does the
involvement of international streaming services contribute to enhancing,
diminishing or otherwise changing it? These are some of the pertinent
questions that we would like to address and debate from a variety of
perspectives in this special issue, but the list is far from exhaustive.
Possible topics for contributions include, but are not limited to:
• The potential effects of Netflix on world cinema
storytelling and aesthetics
• Netflix (and other streaming services like Amazon Prime
and Disney+ Hotstar) in India
• Netflix in Nigeria
• The effects of Netflix’s (and other international
streaming services) investment in local film production in other
countries, like, e.g., Mexico and South Korea
• The effects of Netflix’s involvement in local
production seen from a local audience perspective
• Case studies of individual production companies and/or
filmmakers before and after their cooperation with Netflix or other
international streaming giants (such as HBO GO, Amazon Prime, Hulu etc.)
• Streaming services dedicated to the promotion of cinema
from all corners of the world, like, for instance, the UK-based mubi.com
<http://mubi.com>
• ‘Regional’ OTT streaming services featuring primarily
non-Western cinema and TV series (such as Viu in South-East Asia and the
Middle East)
• The Chinese streaming service iQIYI, its pan-Asian
rollout and global ambitions in a world cinema perspective
• ’Alternative’ streaming services such as the Nollywood
platform iROKOtv or Eros Now (dedicated to Bollywood)
• Shifts in distribution and exhibition models of world
cinema since Netflix (e.g. case studies of individual sales agents and
distributors dedicated to world cinema)
• Netflix and the phenomenon of serialisation in the
context of world cinema