ReFocus: The International Directors Series – serie

Explores the detail of Jane Campion's film and television output, considering her vision and practice, legacy, and her contribution to feminist filmmakingIncludes multiple approaches consolidated within a feminist frameworkEngages with Campion's oeuvre to-dateConsiders Campion's engagement with feminism and feminist filmmakingJane Campion's work shines a spotlight on gender relations, often through complex female characters and an innovative approach to the screen representation of women functioning at the edges of society. Campion is vocal about the under-representation of women in the film industry more generally, though her commitment to the notion of feminism is tempered by an ambivalence towards the term. Despite this ambiguity, Campion's continued focus on women merits an exploration of her work through a feminist lens particularly in the wake of #MeToo, which has had a wide-ranging impact on the film industry.

Jane Campion's work shines a spotlight on gender relations, often through complex female characters and an innovative approach to the screen representation of women functioning at the edges of society. Campion is vocal about the under-representation of women in the film industry more generally, though her commitment to the notion of feminism is tempered by an ambivalence towards the term. Despite this ambiguity, Campion's continued focus on women merits an exploration of her work through a feminist lens particularly in the wake of #MeToo, which has had a wide-ranging impact on the film industry.

Examines the work of Turkish director, Nuri Bilge CeylanProvides thematical analysis of Ceylan's transnational cinema with intertextual and intermedial readings of individual films, the fluidity of the text creating and maintaining a dialogue between chapters similar to the manner Ceylan's films maintain dialogue with each otherLocates Ceylan's cinema within the context of the past and present social, cultural and political climate of Turkey with unprecedented political and sociological readings of specific filmsOffers textual reading of Ceylan's films from the point of view of feminist film theoryPlaces Ceylan's oeuvre within the context of global cinema as a transnational author of realist cinema and slow cinemaReFocus: The Films of Nuri Bilge Ceylan brings together a cohort of expert scholars to analyse the films of Turkey's most renowned filmmaker. His self-reflexive films inspired by local incidents have reached global dimensions, and won awards at prestigious films festivals, including the Grand Prix, Best Director and Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival.This collection highlights Ceylan's aesthetics, auteurism and unique position within the film industry of Turkey and contemporary global cinema while focusing on his transnational style of filmmaking that also favours intertextual exchanges between his films, but also with other landmark works, merging photography, painting, and literature.

ReFocus: The Films of Nuri Bilge Ceylan brings together a cohort of expert scholars to analyse the films of Turkey's most renowned filmmaker. His self-reflexive films inspired by local incidents have reached global dimensions, and won awards at prestigious films festivals, including the Grand Prix, Best Director and Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival.This collection highlights Ceylan's aesthetics, auteurism and unique position within the film industry of Turkey and contemporary global cinema while focusing on his transnational style of filmmaking that also favours intertextual exchanges between his films, but also with other landmark works, merging photography, painting, and literature.

Examines the film practice of the Chilean-French filmmaker and artist Alejandro JodorowskyThe first scholarly collection dedicated to the films of Alejandro JodorowskyOffers theoretical interpretations from the fields of cinema studies, art history, Latin American studies, gender studies, comparative literature, disability studies, and sound studies, from leading scholars in the fieldIncludes both textual and contextual analysis of Jodorowsky's entire filmographyKnown as the father of the midnight cult movie" and co-founder of the avant-garde Panic movement in France, Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky defies all basic categorization. He is known as a provocateur, a performance artist, a visionary filmmaker, a controversial playwright, a philosopher, and a tarot reader, among other disparate classifications. These varied dimensions of artist and filmmaker converge seamlessly into his practice. He is recognized by audiences as a creator of controversial and mesmerizing films characterized by visual delirium, the injection of radical politics and mystical philosophy, and a post-surrealist aesthetics.?ReFocus: The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky pursues an interdisciplinary approach to analyze and contextualize Jodorowsky's films according to a variety of conceptual modalities: from occult and mystical orientations, to the political and decolonial aspects of his major films. This collection examines the formative metaphysical elaborations involved in Jodorowsky's earliest films, his pioneering of a truly unique independent film practice in Mexico, and his emergence and development as a visionary international filmmaker.?"

Known as the father of the "midnight cult movie" and co-founder of the avant-garde Panic movement in France, Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky defies all basic categorization. He is known as a provocateur, a performance artist, a visionary filmmaker, a controversial playwright, a philosopher, and a tarot reader, among other disparate classifications. These varied dimensions of artist and filmmaker converge seamlessly into his practice. He is recognized by audiences as a creator of controversial and mesmerizing films characterized by visual delirium, the injection of radical politics and mystical philosophy, and a post-surrealist aesthetics.?ReFocus: The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky pursues an interdisciplinary approach to analyze and contextualize Jodorowsky's films according to a variety of conceptual modalities: from occult and mystical orientations, to the political and decolonial aspects of his major films. This collection examines the formative metaphysical elaborations involved in Jodorowsky's earliest films, his pioneering of a truly unique independent film practice in Mexico, and his emergence and development as a visionary international filmmaker.

Explores British director Steve McQueen's diverse output, from video installations to independent cinema to Hollywood to the BBCThe first full book-length study of McQueen to be published in EnglishInvestigates the landmark television series Small Axe, in addition to his Hollywood films (Widows, 12 Years A Slave), independent titles (Shame, Hunger) and gallery installationsDraws on multiple methods to explore this wide body of work, including political contextualisation, textual analysis, institutional studies and intertextual comparisonsWorking across a range of formats, from video art and gallery installations to independent cinema to Hollywood to the BBC, Steve McQueen's prodigious output has been marked by formal ambition and political urgency.This vital collection interrogates his body of work, its political, aesthetic and institutional dimensions, and the interfaces between them. It offers critical insights into McQueen's engagements with race, gender, the body, love and pain, and his abiding self-reflexive interest in the potential of multiple audio-visual forms. The first director to win both the Turner Prize and an Oscar for best picture, McQueen is probably the most important working British film maker. This book explores the controversies as well as the achievements in his stellar career so far.

Working across a range of formats, from video art and gallery installations to independent cinema to Hollywood to the BBC, Steve McQueen's prodigious output has been marked by formal ambition and political urgency. This vital collection interrogates his body of work, its political, aesthetic and institutional dimensions, and the interfaces between them. It offers critical insights into McQueen's engagements with race, gender, the body, love and pain, and his abiding self-reflexive interest in the potential of multiple audio-visual forms. The first director to win both the Turner Prize and an Oscar for best picture, McQueen is probably the most important working British film maker. This book explores the controversies as well as the achievements in his stellar career so far.

Updates and reapplies film theory to French director Claire Denis's films, with a particular focus on her most recent workFeatures essays on all of Denis's fiction and documentaryWorld leading Denis scholarsInnovative readings of Denis in the 21st CenturyReFocus: The Films of Claire Denis comprises 14 original works of criticism from world leading Denis scholars and early career researchers. With contributors from as far afield as Canada and Australia, the collection offers a global perspective on Denis' films. It includes an accessible introduction for those new to Denis studies, providing biographical details, an overview of thematic interests, and a brief survey of the most salient and influential trends in Denis scholarship. The first collection of scholarly essays on Denis, and the first major work of criticism on one of the contemporary period's most influential and renowned directors for almost a decade, ReFocus: The Films of Claire Denis is a timely and important contribution to Denis studies and to transnational cinema studies more broadly.

ReFocus: The Films of Claire Denis comprises 14 original works of criticism from world leading Denis scholars and early career researchers.With contributors from as far afield as Canada and Australia, the collection offers a global perspective on Denis' films. It includes an accessible introduction for those new to Denis studies, providing biographical details, an overview of thematic interests, and a brief survey of the most salient and influential trends in Denis scholarship. The first collection of scholarly essays on Denis, and the first major work of criticism on one of the contemporary period's most influential and renowned directors for almost a decade, ReFocus: The Films of Claire Denis is a timely and important contribution to Denis studies and to transnational cinema studies more broadly.

The first comprehensive scholarly volume on Kim Ki-young and his films in EnglishOffers an innovative critical analysis of Kim Ki-young's films from a range of fresh and nuanced perspectivesIntroduces a significant South Korean film auteur within the history of global cinema whose work has been previously overlookedIncreases the understanding of modern South Korean history and culture through an analysis of the trajectory of Kim Ki-young's workWorld-renowned South Korean directors, including Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon Ho, cite Kim Ki-young as being the greatest Korean influence on their work. During his thirty year career, Kim Ki-young produced thirty-three films and became revered by critics within the national and international community as one of the few South Korean 'auteurs'.As the first comprehensive scholarly volume on Kim Ki-young in English, ReFocus: The Films of Kim Ki-young covers his entire career and history of cinematic work, highlighting the thematic and stylistic singularity of Kim's oeuvre, which was produced relative to the specific historical and cultural conditions of post-war South Korea. It offers an innovative departure point from which to explore South Korean film relative to the wider history of world cinema, in addition to situating Kim's work within the broader fields of Korean modern history, transnational cinema and cultural studies.

World-renowned South Korean directors, including Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon Ho, cite Kim Ki-young as being the greatest Korean influence on their work. During his thirty year career, Kim Ki-young produced thirty-three films and became revered by critics within the national and international community as one of the few South Korean 'auteurs'. As the first comprehensive scholarly volume on Kim Ki-young in English, ReFocus: The Films of Kim Ki-young covers his entire career and history of cinematic work, highlighting the thematic and stylistic singularity of Kim's oeuvre, which was produced relative to the specific historical and cultural conditions of post-war South Korea. It offers an innovative departure point from which to explore South Korean film relative to the wider history of world cinema, in addition to situating Kim's work within the broader fields of Korean modern history, transnational cinema and cultural studies.

Highlights the cinematic oeuvre of Yim Soon-rye, one of the most influential Korean female filmmakersFirst comprehensive English-language book on Yim Soon-rye and her films, placing her within the larger perspectives of Korean cinematic history and women's cinemaFirst English volume on any Korean woman filmmaker, that calls for a need to address the work of other Korean women filmmakersOffers critical analyses of Yim's aesthetic approach and recurring subject matter of nature, gender roles and feminismContributes to the existing scholarship on Korean cinema and the global extent of Women's cinemaKorean cinema, though currently established as one of the most successful international film industries, has never been a fair ground for women filmmakers. Amidst the heavily male dominated Korean cinema and the film industry, Yim has consistently produced critically and commercially influential films and has been recognized at numerous film festivals/awards both in and outside of Korea. Yim has produced/directed over a dozen films including shorts the highest number that any female director has ever achieved in Korea. Also, Yim is the only female director with a blockbuster (Gyoseop, 2023) under her belt, which was always considered to be the arena for male directors.ReFocus: The Films of Yim Soon-rye will be the very first English-language book that showcases critical readings of Yim's work and simultaneously, this volume will address and position Yim in the larger historical context of Korean cinema and women filmmakers in the world.

Korean cinema, though currently established as one of the most successful international film industries, has never been a fair ground for women filmmakers. Amidst the heavily male dominated Korean cinema and the film industry, Yim has consistently produced critically and commercially influential films and has been recognized at numerous film festivals/awards both in and outside of Korea. Yim has produced/directed over a dozen films including shorts the highest number that any female director has ever achieved in Korea. Also, Yim is the only female director with a blockbuster (Gyoseop, 2023) under her belt, which was always considered to be the arena for male directors.ReFocus: The Films of Yim Soon-rye will be the very first English-language book that showcases critical readings of Yim's work and simultaneously, this volume will address and position Yim in the larger historical context of Korean cinema and women filmmakers in the world.

Joaquin Jorda is not only one of the most important directors in Spanish film history, but, through his films, he also connects this history with the ideological and aesthetical movements that took place in European cinema and culture. His influence transcends the fields of cinema and politics and shows a different way of understanding, producing and teaching film.He was a multidisciplinary auteur, who was always attentive to historical and political change, which he observed with a critical eye.This is one of the first books in English about Jorda's body of work. The Films of Joaquin Jorda provides this recognition on the international scene with chapters by 17 contributors, academics from international universities and professionals with prestigious careers. These chapters take into consideration not only his films but all his oeuvre and his multidisciplinary activity, which encompassed fiction films and documentaries, television screenplays, translations of literature, militant politics and pedagogy.

The Films of Agnieszka Holland is the first monograph devoted to the internationally most famous Polish filmmaker, a three times Oscar nominee and the recipient of numerous film festival prizes. It examines her rich, original oeuvre, which ranges from Holocaust dramas such as Europa, Europa (1990) to episodes of the HBO series The Wire. In examining the multifaceted nature of Holland's authorship, the study situates her work in the context of art, popular, national, European, Hollywood, transnational, women's, and queer cinema, as well as global television projects. Her colourful public persona oscillates among auteur, celebrity director, and political activist in an extraordinary professional trajectory, which started in the Eastern Bloc, continued in Western Europe and North America, then backtracked to a unified Europe. That zigzagged route conveys the unique nature of Holland's career while epitomising the transformations of post-Cold War cultural production.

The Films of Agnieszka Holland is the first monograph devoted to the internationally most famous Polish filmmaker, a three times Oscar nominee and the recipient of numerous film festival prizes. It examines her rich, original oeuvre, which ranges from Holocaust dramas such as Europa, Europa (1990) to episodes of the HBO series The Wire. In examining the multifaceted nature of Holland's authorship, the study situates her work in the context of art, popular, national, European, Hollywood, transnational, women's, and queer cinema, as well as global television projects. Her colourful public persona oscillates among auteur, celebrity director, and political activist in an extraordinary professional trajectory, which started in the Eastern Bloc, continued in Western Europe and North America, then backtracked to a unified Europe. That zigzagged route conveys the unique nature of Holland's career while epitomising the transformations of post-Cold War cultural production.

This is the first book-length academic study of Norwegian auteur Joachim Trier's films. The book, written by an author who has followed his work closely for ten years, offers an introduction to all five feature films, from his debut Reprise (2006) to his recent success The Worst Person in the Word (2021). The book investigates the style and themes of Trier's films through a prologue, nine chapters, and an epilogue. The main section of the book looks closely at selected tropes across Trier's films, such as memory, time, and identity, as well as his style and his innovative use of montage, voice-over and settings. The prologue place Trier in contemporary Norwegian cinema and discuss his different inspirations and collaborations. An interview with Joachim Trier makes up the epilogue of the book.

This is the first book-length academic study of Norwegian auteur Joachim Trier's films. The book, written by an author who has followed his work closely for ten years, offers an introduction to all five feature films, from his debut Reprise (2006) to his recent success The Worst Person in the Word (2021). The book investigates the style and themes of Trier's films through a prologue, nine chapters, and an epilogue. The main section of the book looks closely at selected tropes across Trier's films, such as memory, time, and identity, as well as his style and his innovative use of montage, voice-over and settings. The prologue place Trier in contemporary Norwegian cinema and discuss his different inspirations and collaborations. An interview with Joachim Trier makes up the epilogue of the book.

Despite the brief span of her directorial career, lasting from 1963 to 1979, the Soviet Ukrainian director Larisa Shepitko produced a remarkable body of work, one that received an expansive national and international attention and led her to winning the Golden Bear Awards at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1977. Refocus: The Cinema of Larisa Shepitko is the first volume in English to offer a comprehensive, methodologically diverse analysis of Shepitko's oeuvre, demonstrating the ongoing significance of her work for filmmakers and scholars alike. The book not only considers the emergence of Shepitko's cinema within Soviet political and cultural history but examines its continued relevance for thinking about such pressing contemporary issues as war and trauma, history, memory and subjectivity, and ecology and the environment.

Despite the brief span of her directorial career, lasting from 1963 to 1979, the Soviet Ukrainian director Larisa Shepitko produced a remarkable body of work, one that received an expansive national and international attention and led her to winning the Golden Bear Awards at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1977. Refocus: The Cinema of Larisa Shepitko is the first volume in English to offer a comprehensive, methodologically diverse analysis of Shepitko's oeuvre, demonstrating the ongoing significance of her work for filmmakers and scholars alike. The book not only considers the emergence of Shepitko's cinema within Soviet political and cultural history but examines its continued relevance for thinking about such pressing contemporary issues as war and trauma, history, memory and subjectivity, and ecology and the environment.

ReFocus: The Historical Films of Ernst Lubitsch responds to and reframes the films of German emigre director Ernst Lubitsch as film-philosophical exemplars of both early world cinema and historical cinema, from his silent era costume dramas to his post-war Hollywood romances. This edited collection examines recent Lubitsch scholarship within the context of transcultural and transhistorical film theory to provide a critical retrospective of Lubitsch's costume films, historical epics, and marriage comedies across his three illustrious decades of international success.

ReFocus: The Historical Films of Ernst Lubitsch responds to and reframes the films of German émigré director Ernst Lubitsch as film-philosophical exemplars of both early world cinema and historical cinema, from his silent era costume dramas to his post-war Hollywood romances. This edited collection examines recent Lubitsch scholarship within the context of transcultural and transhistorical film theory to provide a critical retrospective of Lubitsch’s costume films, historical epics, and marriage comedies across his three illustrious decades of international success.

Recognised as one of the most significant contemporary directors, Pawe? Pawlikowski achieved global acclaim with the Academy Award-winning Ida (2013). ReFocus: The Films of Pawe? Pawlikowski is the first book-length study of the director's illustrious career, spanning nearly four decades and two countries Great Britain and Poland. This volume traces Pawlikowski's artistic journey, from early, lesser-known BBC documentaries to breakthrough international successes like Last Resort (2000), My Summer of Love (2004), and the critically acclaimed Cold War (2018).Through in-depth analysis of his films, the book uncovers recurring themes such as identity, love, memory, and journeys, often set against historical and social upheavals. It examines his distinctive style marked by minimalist visuals arguing that with atmospheric modernist aesthetics, Pawlikowski not only consciously develops the tradition of European art film but also demonstrates the continued significance of authorship in a transnational context.

Following the centenary of Lindsay Anderson's birth (1923-94), this edited collection of original essays re-examines the work of one of British cinema's most iconoclastic and challenging directors. Building upon existing scholarship and authorial frameworks, the chapters included engage with a range of highly contemporary interpretive themes and approaches, including regionalism, reception, trauma, queer theory, genre, collaboration and gender representation. Addressing a number of methods and key themes which have arisen in the years following Anderson's death, ReFocus: The Films of Lindsay Anderson offers a diverse exploration of his screen work from a contemporary critical perspective. The chapters provide fresh insights into some of the most significant texts in the history of British cinema, including films, concepts, and creative relationships that have shaped modern screen culture.

Bringing together scholars from around the world, ReFocus: The Films of Kon Ichikawa features 12 original chapters exploring the prolific career of the Japanese director.In addition to an introduction which provides comprehensive biographical information and an extensive chronicle of Ichikawa’s impressively expansive and influential eight decades in the film industry, the chapters range over his filmmaking philosophies and methods, his collaborations with such important figures as his wife and screenwriting partner Natto Wada and renowned cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa, his fondness for animation and manga, and his adaptations of famous novels by such prominent authors as Yukio Mishima, Jun’ichirō Tanizaki, and Seishi Yokomizo.Featuring new and groundbreaking work on one of the most important and influential of all Japanese filmmakers, ReFocus: The Films of Kon Ichikawa is a much-needed addition to film studies and the history of Japanese cinema.

Spanning six decades, her seventeen features and four shorts move from the late Soviet era to post-Soviet Ukraine, breaking cinematic rules with repetition, collage, unruly performance and a tactile, object-rich world. This volume reframes Muratova as an autrice working from the margins and proposes ‘ex-cinema’ as a central concept in her radical practice at the edges of language, genre, and empire. Across four parts, leading and emerging scholars examine form and style, gender and queer aesthetics, ethics and community and Muratova’s dialogues with European cinema. Attending to decolonial questions, feminist perspectives, and the politics of visibility, the volume shows how her films unsettle canons and centres while tracing the collective artistry behind them. ​​​​​​​It offers an accessible, interdisciplinary guide to a singular filmmaker and fresh scholarship for students, researchers and cinephiles.

Bringing together leading and emerging scholars, this volume traces Neshat’s evolution from Women of Allah to her feature films Women Without Men, Looking for Oum Kulthum and Land of Dreams, situating her within global debates on feminism, exile and transnational aesthetics.Organised around three themes: Feminist Interventions and Cinematic Authorship, Diasporic Visions and Transnational Frames, and Sensory Histories and Poetic Bodies, the collection presents diverse critical perspectives on her aesthetics of resistance and the politics of representation.Featuring an exclusive interview with Neshat, the book offers new interdisciplinary insights into her artistic and cinematic legacy, positioning her as a pivotal figure whose work transforms personal narratives of displacement into universal meditations on power, memory and identity.

A dynamic, scholarly engagement with Susanne Bier's workThe award-winning Danish director Susanne Bier has become increasingly known for her generic innovations and industrial fluidity, moving confidently between cinema and television at a time where the scarcity of women directors has become a subject of major critical and popular attention. 'Refocus: The Films of Susanne Bier' is a dynamic, scholarly engagement with Bier's work, and a timely consideration of her impressive authorial achievements. Featuring essays from both recognised and up-and-coming scholars in Scandinavian, transnational and feminist film and media studies, this book also includes an original interview with Bier, addressing some of the provocative readings of her films advanced by the volume's contributors.Key featuresThe first volume to examine Susanne Bier's entire oeuvreIncludes original research from prestigious scholars in Scandinavian, transnational and feminist film and media studiesWritten in engaging, accessible prose enlivened by detailed case studies Engages with critical issues in Danish cinema related to screenwriting, collaboration, authorship, gender, identity, ethics, genre, practitioner's agency and receptionFeatures an original interview with Susanne Bier