[Filmfestivalresearch] Unesco Chair "Cinema and the imaginary of feminine in the Mediterranean region »

[Christel Taillibert]

Hello everybody,
Led by the Université Côte d'Azur (Nice, France), a Unesco Chair entitled "Cinema and the imaginary of feminine in the Mediterranean region » (CIFeM) will begin work in autumn 2023. Among the three axes around which this research project is structured, one entitled "Festivals: programming, accompaniment, symbolic constructions" will be devoted to the question of film festivals. You will find below a brief description of the directions in which this work will be carried out.
An international team of researchers and festival managers is currently being set up to work on these themes: if you would like to be involved, please contact Christel Taillibert (christel.taillibert at univ-cotedazur.fr). A first information and exchange meeting will be organized remotely in September 2023 with interested parties.
Have a good day,
Christel Taillibert
Christel Taillibert
Professeure des Universités en Sciences de l'information et de la communication
Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Récits, Cultures et Sociétés
Université Côte d'Azur (France)
christel.taillibert at univ-cotedazur.fr
tel : +33/(0)6 62 44 80 77

Presentation of the axis "Festivals: programming, support, symbolic constructions"
This section looks at the role played by film festivals in the construction of a feminine imaginary in Mediterranean cinema. Several dimensions of the activity of these actors will be taken into consideration.
Firstly, the presence of films produced or directed by women from the Mediterranean area in festival programming will be a key angle of approach, in order to understand how festivals contribute to a potentially privileged exposure of these films, both in the countries in which they were produced and internationally. The aim is to distinguish between the role played by competitive sections and that played by specific programming - tribute to a filmmaker / section dedicated to Mediterranean women's cinema / themes involving the status of women in the Mediterranean area, etc. - in order to understand the role played by festivals in the exposure of these films, both in the countries where they were produced and internationally. This aspect of our research will enable us to highlight the discursive activity of festival programming, on two levels: in its capacity to offer a reading of current cinema in which the gender issue constitutes a singular prism, capable of compensating for any mechanisms of invisibilization; in its capacity to question reality, and in this case the condition of women in the Mediterranean area, through the construction of programming capable of creating meaning through the confrontation of concordant or discordant viewpoints. The escorting discourse that accompanies the programming of films - through catalogs or other publications, oral presentations, possible exhibitions, associated image education proposals, etc. - is an integral part of this discursive activity. Inviting producers, directors, actresses, etc. to express their views on the films thus proposed contributes to reinforcing the scope of these actions. Finally, from a symbolic point of view, the awards granted help to promote the circulation and careers, national or international, of films thus highlighted, and in so doing multiply the scope of these phenomena.
Secondly, we'll be looking at the support initiatives organized as part of film festivals, to understand how they help to promote the involvement of women in the film industry and/or highlight certain views of the world. This may involve writing assistance, development aid, links with pre-existing support schemes, or any other action likely to encourage the emergence, creation or circulation of cinematographic works produced or directed by women in the Mediterranean, or evoking issues linked to the status of women in this geographical area.
Finally, the teams organizing festivals in the Mediterranean could also be considered, in view of the presence of women in key positions (management, programming, responsibility for support systems, etc.). From a diachronic perspective, the aim is to understand how these personalities contribute to the adoption of specific directions in terms of programming or support programs, and how this influences the history and characteristics of these systems. The existence of formal or informal networks of relationships that accentuate these phenomena can also be examined.