Directing models of author cinema in the context of intercultural dialogue. Part 1. Co-production as a way to implement the producing and directing models

The purpose of the article is to identify problems of intercultural cooperation in the production and distribution of films directed by auteur cinema and to identify scientific guidelines that will contribute to a comprehensive analysis of the phenomenon of Ukrainian auteur cinema in the intercultural space. Methodology. An analytical method was used to study the topic, which is necessary to study the art history and cultural aspects of the problem. In addition, the researcher used methods of systematization and generalization, which were useful to argue the identity of the phenomenon of directing auteur cinema, its place in modern cultural processes, as well as to determine the objective patterns that characterize auteur cinematographic practices in modern intercultural space. A cross-cultural method was also used, which helped to identify the peculiarities of production and distribution of films directed by auteur films in the system of international cooperation. In turn, the culturological approach led to a generalized socio-cultural orientation of the study of the author's cinema of postmodern and postmodern culture. The scientific novelty of the study is that the problem of intercultural cooperation in the production and distribution of auteur cinema in Ukraine and abroad in the context of the functioning of international support programs has first become the subject of a special study; the content of the concepts "intercultural dialogue", "co-production" as certain specific integrity and unity of interconnected elements are argued; the works of Ukrainian film directors-authors, whose films were created as international projects, are singled out and characterized; the expediency of using the system method in studying the peculiarities of the international filmmaking process is proved; a comprehensive analysis and features of production and distribution of films by directors-authors in co-production projects in Ukraine and abroad. Conclusions. Acquaintance with the materials presented in the article expands the arsenal of knowledge on the specifics of production and distribution of films of directorial models of auteur cinema within intercultural projects and allows their use in training courses on the theory and history of cinema and directing. Key words: intercultural dialogue, director-author, producer, Ukrainian author's cinema, co-production, director's model of authorship.

(Not) Dealing with War Crimes on Film

This article argues that contemporary post-Yugoslav cinema contributes to a better understanding of the deeply divided societies in the aftermath the Yugoslav Wars (1991–2001), in terms of stimulating empathy for the Other, and, more specifically, raising awareness of the loss of human lives, thus memorializing and commemorating these experiences. It also explores how film directors deal with social issues, including war crimes, and how they appear as activist citizens while their governments struggle to take relevant action. The research aims to bridge the gap between the more theoretical literature that focuses on the role of the media in dealing with the past and more practical analysis providing examples from contemporary post-Yugoslav cinema, and to illuminate the link between film, peace-building and active citizenship. Finally, the article stresses how the idea of post-war reconciliation may be communicated through films and pertains to the notion that a positive film effect exists.

Collective and Individual Factors in the Development of Creative Ideas in Art: The Perspective of Film Directors

The study focuses on the question if and how it is possible to balance the freedom of developing artist’s individual creative idea and the societal demand for art defined in a concrete political context. The theoretical basis for the article is formed by research approaches grounded on sociology of creativity and social psychology. The object of the case study is film directors who had obtained funding for the production and dissemination of their films within the funding program ‘Latvian Films for Latvia’s Centenary’ (2016–2018). The experience of film directors (N 16) was examined by using in-depth interviews and transcriptions analysed in accordance with qualitative methodology. The study identified two contingent levels of creativity inspiration – the individual and the societal or collective level. The authors identify several development models of the film directors’ creative ideas, three of which are dominant: the independent outsider who stresses individual, seed-incident based creativity factors independent of the Latvian Centenary program; the independent idealist who stresses both individual and collective factors, independent of the Latvian Centenary program; the conforming patriot who stresses collective creativity factors that stem from the Latvian Centenary program. The view represented in the film directors’ interviews has in common the assumption that the Latvian Centenary call had a positive influence on the film ideas, allowing the development of the artistic vision and conceptualising the framework for the expression of their ideas. The directors emphasise that there was no intentional configuration of the film creative ideas by formally adjusting them to the demand, thus circumventing the barriers of social field’s gatekeepers. In many cases the idea had been developed long before the film idea call. Most directors admitted that the goal of the Centenary call appeared important to them both in terms of the state, and on the social and personal level.

Understanding the onset of hot streaks across artistic, cultural, and scientific careers

Across a range of creative domains, individual careers are characterized by hot streaks, which are bursts of high-impact works clustered together in close succession. Yet it remains unclear if there are any regularities underlying the beginning of hot streaks. Here, we analyze career histories of artists, film directors, and scientists, and develop deep learning and network science methods to build high-dimensional representations of their creative outputs. We find that across all three domains, individuals tend to explore diverse styles or topics before their hot streak, but become notably more focused after the hot streak begins. Crucially, hot streaks appear to be associated with neither exploration nor exploitation behavior in isolation, but a particular sequence of exploration followed by exploitation, where the transition from exploration to exploitation closely traces the onset of a hot streak. Overall, these results may have implications for identifying and nurturing talents across a wide range of creative domains.

Adapting, modifying and applying cinematography and editing concepts and techniques to cinematic virtual reality film production

Virtual reality (VR) filmmaking presents a unique cinematic experience requiring new and innovative ways to conceptualise and practice specific aspects of the production process. This article integrates a range of adapted and modified filmmaking thinking, approaches and components into the cinematic virtual reality (CVR) language and grammar in the two critical areas of cinematography and editing. This focus provides a range of possible strategies and tools for would-be VR film directors to engage more efficiently and effectively in VR film production. The article utilises an extended case study of the VR feature film Calling to present the director/editor’s observations and experiences using transmedia journaling and three-dimensional (3D) CVR previsualisation as a simulation tool to create this dynamic, interactive CVR film.

La violencia de género como estética en la cultura visual de Europa y América desde el siglo XVI al XXI=Gender violence as aesthetics in European and American visual culture from the 16th to the 21st century

<p align="left"><strong>Resumen</strong></p><p>Esta investigación expone la estructura de un patrón de objetificación respecto al cuerpo femenino que responde a políticas capitalistas utilizando a la cultura visual e historia del arte como medio desde los siglos XVI al XXI. A partir de la recolección y análisis de los trabajos de artistas, directores de arte, fotógrafos, directores de cine y diseñadores de videojuegos se creó un archivo visual en formato digital. El archivo presenta las políticas estéticas dentro del marco geográfico de América y Europa que aún comercian con raza, género, etnia y clase. Se plantea además el problema de la difusión de este tipo de imágenes dentro del mercado global que continúa utilizando una estética que apela a la violencia de género. </p><p align="left"><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p>This research exposes the structure of an objectification pattern regarding the female body which responds to capitalist policies using visual culture and art history as a medium from the 16th to the 21st centuries. From the collection and analysis of the works from artists, art directors, photographers, film directors and video game designers, a visual archive was created in digital format. The archive presents the aesthetic politics within the geographic frame of America and Europe which still trade with race, gender, ethnicity and class. The problem of the dissemination of this type of images within the global market is also mentioned because gender violence is still used as aesthetics.</p>

Wizerunek Niemców w polskich obrazach filmowych okresu transformacji ustrojowej

In Poland, the changes started with the Round Table talks and June elections, and in the GDR with the fall of the Berlin Wall. They gained momentum with the transformation of the Polish People’s Republic into the Republic of Poland and the accession of the German Democratic Republic to the Federal Republic of Germany. These processes were reflected in literature, film, music, and even computer games. Artistic attempts to face the new reality acquired a special dimension in Germany, where the term “breakthrough literature” appeared. The international success of such productions as The Lives of Others or Goodbye, Lenin! indicates the great interest of German film directors in the subject as well. Similar attempts were made in Poland. Films appeared in which German characters – refugees from the GDR, businessmen, tourists, regime officials, or criminals – were presented in connection with the native heroes (usually in the background). An analysis of these characters allows us to look at the Polish experience of the last thirty years from a different perspective and to make a certain relativization of the changes that have occurred in Poland. In accord with Marcin Kula’s concept, the author treats selected films as “historical memory carriers” and analyzes the image of Germans in films created during the political transformation in Poland or in films that concern this period: Psy (Dogs, directed by Władysław Pasikowski), Dwadzieścia lat później (Twenty Years Later, directed by Michał Dudziewicz), Sauna (directed by Filip Bajon), Obcy musi fruwać (The Foreigner Must Go, dir. Wiesław Saniewski), Yuma (dir. Piotr Mularuk) and Wróżby kumaka (Call of the Toad, dir. Robert Gliński).

Imaginer une Allemagne socialiste : le rôle du cinéma dans la construction de l’identité nationale est-allemande

"DEFA, the company responsible for film distribution and production in the Eastern part of Germany, was founded in 1946, three years before the GDR. This shows the central place of cinema in the GDR, which seeks to build a socialist German identity in the ruins of post-war and fascism while asserting itself against the neighboring FDR. The DEFA’s cinema first served the official socialist ideology by proposing historical productions depicting communist heroes fighting against fascism. Whether the film directors agree with this ideology or not, their films also illustrate the flaws that characterize East German identity until the fall of the wall in 1989."

‘Laity as Teachers in the Ecclesia Docens’

Vatican II partly dismantled the separation between the hierarchy as teachers ( ecclesia docens) and the laity as believers ( ecclesia discens). The Council recognized the prophetic function of baptized lay persons, noting in particular the function of parents and catechists and reiterating the guidance of the Holy Spirit received by the whole church ( sensus fidei). Special personal charisms invite recognizing the place in the ecclesia docens of many writers, artists, composers, and film directors. Their imaginative gifts have encouraged and renewed the life of faith for innumerable believers.