HomeBeyond Early Cinema: Persistence of Travelling Cinema Throughout the Twentieth Century

Beyond Early Cinema: Persistence of Travelling Cinema Throughout the Twentieth Century

Par-delà les premiers temps : persistance du cinéma itinérant au XXe siècle 

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Published on Wednesday, October 19, 2022

Abstract

This workshop will explore travelling cinema practises on a global scale in their historical, material and cultural diversity and will look at the ways in which they interfere with the communal identities of audiences. How communities – understood as porous, linguistic, ethnic, religious groups, crossed by various social and cultural dynamics – structured travelling cinema audiences and, conversely, how travelling cinema screening venues created, reinforced or perturbed community identities? The time span adopted goes from the 1920s to the end of the 20th century, up to the moment when television got rooted in the daily spectatorial practices and the VCR player developed (a point in time that differs according to local media histories).

Announcement

Argument

This workshop, part of the “Community Building at the Cinema” research project, aims to explore the persistence of travelling cinema practices throughout the twentieth century. So far, historiography has mostly focused on the history of travelling cinema and its entrepreneurs in Western Europe before the First World War. With this workshop and according to the project’s decentralising ambition, we would like to take into consideration recent scholarly works and move beyond this well studied space-time to uncover the wide range of travelling cinema practises in lesser-investigated historical and geographical contexts. Indeed, in recent years, increasing attention has been devoted to non-commercial travelling cinema for propaganda or advertising purposes as well as commercial mobile screenings long after the implementation of the (historiographically) dominant model of fixed-site cinemas. This workshop will explore travelling cinema practises on a global scale in their historical, material and cultural diversity and will look at the ways in which they interfere with the communal identities of audiences. How communities – understood as porous, linguistic, ethnic, religious groups, crossed by various social and cultural dynamics – structured travelling cinema audiences and, conversely, how travelling cinema screening venues created, reinforced or perturbed community identities? The time span adopted goes from the 1920s to the end of the 20th century, up to the moment when television got rooted in the daily spectatorial practices and the VCR player developed (a point in time that differs according to local media histories).

Programme

October 18, 2022

Musée du quai Branly – Cinema Theater Salle de cinéma

17.00 Film screening Projection du film

The Cinema Travellers (Shirley Abraham, Amit Madheshiya, India, 2016, 96 min) (free admission, subject to availability Entrée libre, dans la limite des places disponibles)

October 19, 2022

Université Paris Nanterre, Weber Building, room 2 Bâtiment Weber, salle 2

9.30 Welcoming coffee Café, accueil

9.45

  • Morgan Corriou (Paris 8), Caroline Damiens (Paris Nanterre), Mélisande Leventopoulos (Paris 8): “Introduction
  • Judith Thissen (Utrecht University): “Towards a Typology of Travelling Cinema

10.45 Coffee Break Pause

11.00 Travelling cinema experiences in socialist spaces

  • Thomas Lahusen (University of Toronto): “From Moscow to Local Community: Soviet Travelling Cinema in Riazan and Kyrgyzstan
  • Ningsi Song (Université Aix-Marseille): “Travelling Cinema Practices in Rural China during the Cultural Revolution (1970-1976)
  • Jonathan Larcher (Université Paris Nanterre): “Distant Echoes. Memories of Travelling Projections in Socialist Romania (1980-1990)

12.30 Lunch Déjeuner

14.30 Institutions of travelling cinema after the Second World War

  • Ian Goode (University of Glasgow): “Mobile Cinema and Cinema-Going in the Post-War Highlands and Islands of Scotland
  • Katerina Loukopoulou (Middlesex University London): “The Viewing Dispositifs of the Marshall Plan: the Case of a Showboat’s Travelling Cinema

15.30 Coffee Break Pause

16.00 Interpreting audiences of travelling cinema

  • Åsa Jernudd (Örebro University): “Elite, Urban and Simpleminded Rural Cinema Cultures in 1960s Sweden: Challenging a Historical Stereotype with a Case Study of the Travelling Cinema Skandia Bio
  • Vincent Bouchard (Indiana University Bloomington): “Film Propaganda and Audience Reception in Colonial Algeria: The SDC
  • Paul S. Moore (Toronto Metropolitan University): “Small-Gauge in the Great White North: A Critique of Canadian Government Data on Itinerant 16mm Exhibitors, 1938-1976

17.30 Concluding Remarks: Arthur Asseraf (University of Cambridge, visiting professor for the project “Community Building at the Cinema” professeur invité du projet « Faire communauté(s) face à l’écran »)

Organisation

Workshop of the “Community Building at the Cinema” Project Atelier du projet « Faire communauté(s) face à l’écran » organised by organisé par Morgan Corriou, Caroline Damiens, Mélisande Leventopoulos

With the collaboration of Avec la collaboration de Nolwenn Briand (University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne)

contacts: morgan.corriou@univ-paris8.fr, caroline.damiens@parisnanterre.fr, melisande.leventopoulos@gmail.com

Access

Musée du quai Branly: 37, quai Branly

Métro stations: Alma-Marceau, Iéna (line 9), École Militaire (line 8), Bir Hakeim (line 6) or Pont de l'Alma, Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel (RER C)

Université Paris Nanterre: 200, avenue de la République 92000 Nanterre

Train station: Nanterre Université (RER A, line L from depuis Saint -Lazare)

Financements

Project funded by the ComUE UPL as part of its call for projects 2022 Projet financé par la ComUE UPL dans le cadre de son appel à projets 2022. This work benefited from a government grant under the ‘Investissements d’avenir’ programme (ANR-17-EURE-0008).

Ce travail a bénéficié d’une aide de l’Etat gérée par l’Agence nationale de la recherche au titre du programme d’Investissements d’avenir portant la référence ANR-17-EURE-0008.

Places

  • Musée du Quai Branly, salle de cinéma - 37 quai Branly
    Paris, France (75007)
  • Bâtiment Weber, salle 2 - 200 avenue de la République
    Nanterre, France (92)

Event attendance modalities

Full on-site event


Date(s)

  • Tuesday, October 18, 2022
  • Wednesday, October 19, 2022

Attached files

Keywords

  • cinema, mobility, travel

Contact(s)

  • Mélisande Leventopoulos
    courriel : melisande [dot] leventopoulos [at] gmail [dot] com
  • Morgan Corriou
    courriel : morgan [dot] corriou [at] univ-paris8 [dot] fr
  • Caroline Damiens
    courriel : caroline [dot] damiens [at] parisnanterre [dot] fr

Information source

  • Nolwenn BRIAND
    courriel : fairecommunaute [at] eur-artec [dot] fr

License

CC0-1.0 This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.

To cite this announcement

« Beyond Early Cinema: Persistence of Travelling Cinema Throughout the Twentieth Century », Study days, Calenda, Published on Wednesday, October 19, 2022, https://doi.org/10.58079/19qc

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