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Project

The diaspora kino-eye: A multi-methodological research project on diaspora film policies and representations in Flanders (2002-2021)

Over the last decades a major upswing of diaspora cinema in Europe took place. In Flanders, this flux of diaspora filmmaking is specifically relevant as cross-cultural identities have assumed a prominent role in contemporary cinematic narratives. The importance of diaspora cinema is that it is considered to be one of those symbolic sites of struggles within a multicultural society that can help in the deconstruction of Eurocentric and hegemonic modes of thought, eliciting a transnational, intercultural shift. While diaspora cinema studies usually depart from a textual or reception perspective, the media industry and policy contexts in which these diaspora discourses are produced and distributed remain under-studied. Considering the institutional power of the VAF in the Flemish film industry, this project is specifically interested in the complex relationship between Flemish film policy and the conundrum of diasporic, intercultural diversity. As such, this research project aims to scrutinize the political, industrial and socio-cultural dynamics of diaspora film productions in Flanders, adjoining the burgeoning field of critical policy studies. Therefore, this project will (1) map Flemish film policy’s institutional frameworks and discourses with regard to diaspora cultures and cinema (2002-2021); (2) critically investigate policy practices on Flemish diaspora film production and distribution; and (3) analyse their textual representations of diaspora cultures.

Date:1 Nov 2020 →  Today
Keywords:Critical Film Policy, Film Studies, Diaspora and migration studies
Disciplines:Media and communication policy, Intercultural communication, Political economy of communication, Ethnicity and migration studies, Film studies