The globalization and digitalization of cultural markets presents formidable challenges for local cinema and storytelling. The essays in this collection address some of these challenges from the perspective of a critical political economy of local cinema. Inspiring these contributions is the effort of supporting local cinema as a form of valuable storytelling that is at risk of market-driven extinction because of the greater commercial viability of global or Hollywood cinema and national cinema.

Autorentext

Anne Lill Rajala is a research assistant in the Media and Education in the Digital Age - MEDA research programme at Arcada University of Applied Sciences, Helsinki, Finland. She holds a bachelor degree in Culture and Arts (film & television) and is currently completing a master degree in social sciences (University of Helsinki) with communication as main discipline. Her BA thesis dealt with documentary film as a form of truth-telling and she continues exploring the topic further in her master thesis. Rajala has been involved in artistic productions for more than 15 years through e.g. theater, photography and filmmaking. Additionally Rajala has a strong passion for music, and pursues her artistic ambitions in the critically acclaimed theatrical metal band Lost in Grey. Daniel Lindblom is a freelance journalist, screenwriter and a researcher. He holds a bachelor degree in Culture and Arts (film & television) and is currently completing a master program in journalism at University of Helsinki, Finland. He is research assistant in the programme Media and education in the Digital Age MEDA, based at Arcada University of Applied Sciences in Helsinki. His research deals with local cinema, especially Finnish Swedish cinema, and local storytelling. Matteo Stocchetti (PhD) is Docent in Political Communication at Åbo Academy, Docent in Media and Communication at the University of Helsinki and Principal Lecturer in Critical Media Analysis at Arcada University of Applied Sciences. He is the initiator and main coordinator of the program Media and Education in the Digital Age MEDA. (https://rdi.arcada.fi/meda/en/). His main research interests include critical social theory applied to politics, education and the media.

Inhalt

Notes on Contributors - Critical political economy and local cinema: An Introduction - Part 1 Local Cinema and Digitization: Distribution and Exhibition - The political economy of participatory community cinemas: CineCiutat as a standpoint of resistance - Elements of a critical political economy of local cinema in Digital Era: Lo-bal process and double aesthetic of cinema in French film exhibitors - Film distribution in Finland: Gatekeepers of local cinema - Terje Gaustad, Anne-Britt Gran, and Øyvind Torp Digitizing local cinema: Lessons on diversity from Norway - The political economy of Khaleeji cinema: Historical developments of Arab Gulf film industries - Part 2 Local Cinema and Globalization: Struggles, Survival and Sustainability - Production of Main Melody Film in Post-Socialist China: A deconstruction of Wolf Warrior 2 - In the land of Finnish Swedish cinema: A look into the political economy of local cinema in Finland - Art against the odds: The struggles, survival and success of New Zealand local cinema - Market censorship and Finnish cinema - Sustainability as a framework of analysis and a guide for policy-making: The film industry in Wellington, New Zealand