Aliya A Ali explores how kinship and marriage alliances shaped political power and governance in the early Islamic city of Kūfa.
by John White In the first of a short series of extracts from British Cinema and a Divided Nation (EUP, 2022), John White looks at Mary Queen of Scots (Josie Rourke, 2018). In this film we are presented with a…
by Lisa Dombrowski and Justin Wyatt Film director Robert Altman was one of the leading creative forces of the last great period of Hollywood filmmaking known as the New Hollywood or Hollywood Renaissance. Much critical analysis has addressed this early…
By Peter C. Pugsley In Japanese High School Films: Iconography, Nostalgia and Discipline, I write about how high school-based films capture a steady market in Japanese cinema. From the 100 plus high school films released in just over five years (2014-2020),…
by Emma Wilson Céline Sciamma: Portraits (2021) I suggested a book on Céline Sciamma for the Visionaries series after seeing her first three films, Waterlilies (2007), Tomboy (2011), and Girlhood (2014). I was moved by the sensitivity of her imaging…
In this interview, David Church discusses Post-Horror: Art, Genre and Cultural Elevation, exploring the meaning of post-horror, its recent popularity and the films he examines in his book. Broadly speaking, what is ‘post-horror’? I see ‘post-horror’ or ‘elevated horror’ films…
In this interview, Christian Long, editor of ReFocus: The Films of Albert Brooks (out now in our series ReFocus: The American Directors Series), talks about the work of Albert Brooks and what led him to research it. Can you tell…
by Niamh Thornton Niamh Thornton introduces the case studies she uses in her chapter from Legacies of the Past: Memory and Trauma in Mexican Visual and Screen Cultures. Finding a space to discuss memory and trauma In order to talk…
by Miriam Kent Wanda Maximoff, known as the Scarlet Witch, is one of Marvel’s most enduring characters. Her history has spanned multiple decades and media formats. Disney+’s WandaVision recently receiving praise for its characterisation, aesthetics and settings. WandaVision inserted Scarlet…
by Alberto Zambenedetti Sophia Loren relaxing by the side of the road, next to her broken-down Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing. Vittorio Gassman speeding through a deserted Rome in a beat-up Lancia Aurelia B24 convertible. Rossano Brazzi taking down the top…