Theorising National Cinema

Why do we think of clusters of films as a 'national cinema'? Why has the relationship between the nation and film become so widely and uncritically accepted? Written by many leading scholars in the field, "Theorizing National Cinema" is a major contribution to work on national cinemas. It addresses the knotty and complex relationship between cinema and national identity, showing that the nationality of a cinema production company, and of the films it made, have not always been seen as pertinent. The volume reviews and rethinks the concept of national cinema in an age of globalization, and goes on to chart the parallel developments of national film industries and the idea of the nation state in countries as diverse as Japan, South Korea, Russia, France, and Italy.The issue of a 'national cinema' for nation states of contested status, with disputed borders or displaced peoples, is discussed in relation to filmmaking in Taiwan, Ireland, and Palestine. The contributors also consider the future of national cinema in an age of transnational cultural flows, exploring issues of national identity and cinema in Latin America, Asia, the Middle-East, India, Africa and Europe. "Theorizing National Cinema" also includes a valuable bibliography of works on national cinema.