Contemporary European Cinema

• Credit value: 30 credits at Level 6
• Convenor: Hilary Smith
• Assessment: a 2000-2500-word essay (40%) and a 3000-3500-word essay (60%)

This module explores definitions, strategies and perceptions of contemporary European cinema. Through examination of selected aspects of the output of individual countries, possible connections between films and practices of different nations will be considered, to identify routes on offer for contemporary filmmaking in Europe, and to reflect on how 'European cinema' may be defined in an increasingly globalised and digitised world. Consideration will also be given to the influence of past European film practice on the present, and to perceptions of the position of European cinema in relation to Hollywood. You will explore a diversity of films and variety of filmmaking practices, and by the end of the module should be able to identify ways these works can be described as ‘contemporary’, how they are defined or perceived as ‘European’, and what kind of ‘cinema’ they represent aesthetically and in terms of their production context.

Indicative module content

• Identifying and analysing trends and practices of recent European film-making
• Contextualising contemporary output within historical trends and practices of European cinema
• Identifying and applying critical concepts to the study of contemporary European cinema