Darren Waldron – författare

Saccharine for some, poignant for others, Jacques Demy’s ‘enchanted’ world is familiar to generations of French audiences accustomed to watching Christmas repeats of his fairytale Peau d’âne (1970) or seeing Catherine Deneuve and Françoise Dorléac prance and pirouette in Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (1966). Demy achieved international recognition with Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (1963), which was awarded the Palme d’Or at Cannes. However, beneath the apparently sugary coating of his films lie more philosophical reflections on some of the most pressing issues that preoccupy Western societies, including affect, subjectivity, self/other relations and free will. This wide-ranging book addresses many of the key aspects of Demy's cinema, including his associations with the New Wave, his unique approach to musicals, his adaptations of fairytales, his representations of gender and sexuality and his legacy as an iconic director for generations of audiences and filmmakers.

Headline: Examines how LGBT filmmaking in France and Spain moves across borders and finds new audiencesBlurb: The book advances the current state of film audience research and of our knowledge of sexuality in transnational contexts by analysing how French LGBTQ films are seen in Spain and Spanish ones in France. It studies films (in various media and platforms) and their reception across four languages (Spanish, French, Catalan, English) and considers and engages with participants from across a range of digital and physical audience locations, with a particular focus on festivals. It examines films that chronicle the local (in portraying national and sub-national identities) and draws on the regional-global (translating and transferring foreign models of non-heterosexual experience). No comparative and crosscutting study with audience research at its heart has yet been undertaken.Key Features:Offers a full, clear, and comparative cultural history of LGBTQ film since the 1990s in France and Spain and of its activist and theory-inspired connectionsHas audience reception at the core, working with an extensive corpus of responsesMakes broad use of social networking sites and the popular LGBTQ press to gauge response Covers LGBTQ festivals including those in Barcelona, Bilbao, London, Lyon, Madrid, Manchester, Paris and Toulouse Is interested in short, independent, ephemeral and documentary film production as well as commercially-pitched feature filmsLooks at the cross-border impact of the auteur and big-name directors (e.g. Pedro Almodóvar, Cesc Gay, Sébastien Lifshitz, François Ozon) Sets its findings against mainstream LGBTQ critical reception, written in Catalan, English, French, and SpanishKeywords: French cinema; Spanish cinema; audiences; LGBTQ cultures; lesbian and gay film festivalsSubject: Film StudiesHeadline: Examines how LGBT filmmaking in France and Spain moves across borders and finds new audiencesBlurb: The book advances the current state of film audience research and of our knowledge of sexuality in transnational contexts by analysing how French LGBTQ films are seen in Spain and Spanish ones in France. It studies films (in various media and platforms) and their reception across four languages (Spanish, French, Catalan, English) and considers and engages with participants from across a range of digital and physical audience locations, with a particular focus on festivals. It examines films that chronicle the local (in portraying national and sub-national identities) and draws on the regional-global (translating and transferring foreign models of non-heterosexual experience). No comparative and crosscutting study with audience research at its heart has yet been undertaken.Key Features:Offers a full, clear, and comparative cultural history of LGBTQ film since the 1990s in France and Spain and of its activist and theory-inspired connectionsHas audience reception at the core, working with an extensive corpus of responsesMakes broad use of social networking sites and the popular LGBTQ press to gauge response Covers LGBTQ festivals including those in Barcelona, Bilbao, London, Lyon, Madrid, Manchester, Paris and Toulouse Is interested in short, independent, ephemeral and documentary film production as well as commercially-pitched feature filmsLooks at the cross-border impact of the auteur and big-name directors (e.g. Pedro Almodóvar, Cesc Gay, Sébastien Lifshitz, François Ozon) Sets its findings against mainstream LGBTQ critical reception, written in Catalan, English, French, and SpanishKeywords: French cinema; Spanish cinema; audiences; LGBTQ cultures; lesbian and gay film festivalsSubject: Film Studies

Headline: Examines how LGBT filmmaking in France and Spain moves across borders and finds new audiencesBlurb: The book advances the current state of film audience research and of our knowledge of sexuality in transnational contexts by analysing how French LGBTQ films are seen in Spain and Spanish ones in France. It studies films (in various media and platforms) and their reception across four languages (Spanish, French, Catalan, English) and considers and engages with participants from across a range of digital and physical audience locations, with a particular focus on festivals. It examines films that chronicle the local (in portraying national and sub-national identities) and draws on the regional-global (translating and transferring foreign models of non-heterosexual experience). No comparative and crosscutting study with audience research at its heart has yet been undertaken.Key Features:Offers a full, clear, and comparative cultural history of LGBTQ film since the 1990s in France and Spain and of its activist and theory-inspired connectionsHas audience reception at the core, working with an extensive corpus of responsesMakes broad use of social networking sites and the popular LGBTQ press to gauge response Covers LGBTQ festivals including those in Barcelona, Bilbao, London, Lyon, Madrid, Manchester, Paris and Toulouse Is interested in short, independent, ephemeral and documentary film production as well as commercially-pitched feature filmsLooks at the cross-border impact of the auteur and big-name directors (e.g. Pedro Almodóvar, Cesc Gay, Sébastien Lifshitz, François Ozon) Sets its findings against mainstream LGBTQ critical reception, written in Catalan, English, French, and SpanishKeywords: French cinema; Spanish cinema; audiences; LGBTQ cultures; lesbian and gay film festivalsSubject: Film StudiesHeadline: Examines how LGBT filmmaking in France and Spain moves across borders and finds new audiencesBlurb: The book advances the current state of film audience research and of our knowledge of sexuality in transnational contexts by analysing how French LGBTQ films are seen in Spain and Spanish ones in France. It studies films (in various media and platforms) and their reception across four languages (Spanish, French, Catalan, English) and considers and engages with participants from across a range of digital and physical audience locations, with a particular focus on festivals. It examines films that chronicle the local (in portraying national and sub-national identities) and draws on the regional-global (translating and transferring foreign models of non-heterosexual experience). No comparative and crosscutting study with audience research at its heart has yet been undertaken.Key Features:Offers a full, clear, and comparative cultural history of LGBTQ film since the 1990s in France and Spain and of its activist and theory-inspired connectionsHas audience reception at the core, working with an extensive corpus of responsesMakes broad use of social networking sites and the popular LGBTQ press to gauge response Covers LGBTQ festivals including those in Barcelona, Bilbao, London, Lyon, Madrid, Manchester, Paris and Toulouse Is interested in short, independent, ephemeral and documentary film production as well as commercially-pitched feature filmsLooks at the cross-border impact of the auteur and big-name directors (e.g. Pedro Almodóvar, Cesc Gay, Sébastien Lifshitz, François Ozon) Sets its findings against mainstream LGBTQ critical reception, written in Catalan, English, French, and SpanishKeywords: French cinema; Spanish cinema; audiences; LGBTQ cultures; lesbian and gay film festivalsSubject: Film Studies

Few European male actors have been as iconic and influential for generations of filmgoers as Alain Delon. Emblematic of a modern, European masculinity, Delon’s appeal spanned cultures and continents. From his breakthrough as the first on-screen Tom Ripley in Purple Noon in 1960, through two legendary performances in Rocco and His Brothers and The Leopard in the early 1960s, to his roles in some of Jean-Pierre Melville’s most celebrated films noirs, Delon came to embody the flair and stylishness of the European thriller as one of France’s most recognizable film stars. This collection examines the star’s career, image and persona. Not only focusing on his spectacular early performances, the book also considers less well documented aspects of Delon’s long career such as his time in Hollywood, his work as director, producer and screenwriter, his musical collaborations, his TV appearances, and his enduring role as a fashion icon in the 21st century. Whether the object of reverence or ridicule, of desire or disdain, Delon remains a unique figure who continues to court controversy and fascination more than five decades after he first achieved international fame.

Featuring a lineup of distinguished academics, this collection remedies the absence of scholarly attention to French cinematic legend Isabelle Huppert. This volume deconstructs Huppert’s star persona and public profile through critical and theoretical analysis of her various screen roles—from her very early appearances alongside Romy Schneider in César et Rosalie (Sautet, 1972) and Gérard Depardieu in Les Valseuses (1974) to a number of celebrated collaborations with high-profile European auteurs such as Catherine Breillat, Claire Denis, Jean-Luc Godard, Michael Haneke and Joseph Losey, and with more popular auteurs such as Claude Chabrol and François Ozon.Known for a cerebral internalization of characterization, a technical mastery of extreme emotions, and a singular brand of icy intellectualism, Huppert’s performances continue to impress, stun and surprise audiences. By focusing on several theoretical questions that relate to image, identity, sexuality and place, this volume situates Huppert’s star persona in the more practical creative contexts of performance, authorship, genre and collaboration. This volume contrasts complementary critical accounts of her stardom by working across the different periods and territories of her career.

Featuring a lineup of distinguished academics, this collection remedies the absence of scholarly attention to French cinematic legend Isabelle Huppert. This volume deconstructs Huppert’s star persona and public profile through critical and theoretical analysis of her various screen roles—from her very early appearances alongside Romy Schneider in César et Rosalie (Sautet, 1972) and Gérard Depardieu in Les Valseuses (1974) to a number of celebrated collaborations with high-profile European auteurs such as Catherine Breillat, Claire Denis, Jean-Luc Godard, Michael Haneke and Joseph Losey, and with more popular auteurs such as Claude Chabrol and François Ozon.Known for a cerebral internalization of characterization, a technical mastery of extreme emotions, and a singular brand of icy intellectualism, Huppert’s performances continue to impress, stun and surprise audiences. By focusing on several theoretical questions that relate to image, identity, sexuality and place, this volume situates Huppert’s star persona in the more practical creative contexts of performance, authorship, genre and collaboration. This volume contrasts complementary critical accounts of her stardom by working across the different periods and territories of her career.

Saccharine for some, poignant for others, Jacques Demy’s ‘enchanted’ world is familiar to generations of French audiences accustomed to watching Christmas repeats of his fairytale Peau d’âne (1970) or seeing Catherine Deneuve and Françoise Dorléac prance and pirouette in Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (1966). Demy achieved international recognition with Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (1963), which was awarded the Palme d’Or at Cannes. However, beneath the apparently sugary coating of his films lie more philosophical reflections on some of the most pressing issues that preoccupy Western societies, including affect, subjectivity, self/other relations and free will. This wide-ranging book addresses many of the key aspects of Demy's cinema, including his associations with the New Wave, his unique approach to musicals, his adaptations of fairytales, his representations of gender and sexuality and his legacy as an iconic director for generations of audiences and filmmakers.