Dina Iordanova and Ruby Cheung (eds),
Film Festivals and Imagined Communities.
Dundee: St Andrews Film Studies, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-9563730-1-4
AU$37.00 (pb)
286pp
(Review copy supplied by St Andrews Film Studies)

The second edition of the Film Festival Yearbook series is another vital contribution to the developing field of film festivals studies. Published by St Andrews Film Studies and edited by Dina Iordanova with Ruby Cheung, the work explores, as its title suggests, Film Festivals and Imagined Communities.
The decision to use this title is both brave and encouraging. Instead of calling the work ‘Film Festivals and Diasporas’ (which was, in fact, the original title) the editors have deliberately problematised the existence of film festivals by identifying their nature as complex social organisations. The term ‘imagined communities’ explicitly references Benedict Anderson’s seminal work of the same name, which stresses the importance of perceived acceptance to nationalist groups and activities over mere physical and geographic location; in a world made smaller by the potential of modern communication, our sense of community can, seemingly paradoxically, now include others too distant for us to ever know personally. This interdisciplinary ‘borrowing‘ from the fields of Politics and International Relations is encouraging, as it broadens the presentation of structured ideas and concepts that are often otherwise lacking in discussions of the more complex issues of film festival studies. Thus a contributor such as Yum Hi Hwang is able to elaborate on the issue of migrant workers in South Korea and remain confident that these points of view will retain their relevance within the context of film studies, and will inspire other film festival practitioners and researchers across the globe.

If there is a downside to taking such an approach, it comes in relation to the stated purpose of the initial Film Festival Yearbook: to develop a ‘systematic approach’ that will facilitate a better understanding of the overall phenomenon of film festivals. The notion of imagined communities is perhaps too narrow a topic to effectively contribute to this systematising. While this sociological aspect is without doubt an important topic, it seems one more suited to a third or fourth series book – a discussion to be undertaken once there is an established base of film festival knowledge and theory. Still, this specificity does nothing to undermine what is an extremely important resource, and doubtless the editors understand where this publication will fit within their series.

In terms of its form and content, the book is similar to the first edition in that the various authors, ranging from scholars and PhD candidates to film festival organisers, present their research, experiences and opinions specifically to a particular aspect of film festival functionality. The subject festivals are chosen for their representativeness as ‘products of a post-colonial context’ and thus provide a whirlwind tour of events celebrating African, Asian and Kurdish cinema, to name just a few.

The authenticity of the experiences of the thirteen contributors is unquestionable and all display obvious understanding and appreciation of film festivals. Two contributors in particular, Isabel Santaolalla and Stefan Simanowitz, present a fascinating piece on The Sahara International Film Festival. This unique event highlights the plight of the thousands of Saharawi refugees and “is the only film festival in the world that is actively trying to bring about its own extinction” (p. 139) by raising the international awareness of these displaced people and facilitate a change to their situation.

The chapter ordering and the division of the text into three distinct sections (Contexts, Case Studies and Resources) enables the reader to use the book as if it were a field manual. This is especially true of the tabled data presented at the end of the book. (It is pleasing in this regard that problems with a weak binding in the first edition have been fixed and that the glossy pages are more robust, ensuring the book’s practical longevity.) Often individual authors will reference each other as well as this data and this gives the book a very considered feel; something that edited works often lack.

Equally important is the use of extensive notes. Because this book will undoubtedly serve as the foundation for future research it is heartening to see the authors pointing readers to on-line sources of information. This technique utilises that resource where most film festival information is found – the Internet – and by so doing it helps entrench the notion that on-line referencing is vital to film festival research.

It is also encouraging to see the authors referencing other recent publications such as Robert Porton’s Dekalog 3: On Film Festivals (2009) and incorporating the ideas and concepts into their own research. Such awareness of the field promotes a singularity of understanding so that repetitive information and research is minimized.

Film Festivals and Imagined Communities is a must read for anyone wishing to remain current with the rapidly developing field of film festival studies. Since each published edition of the Film Festival Yearbook serves to contribute to the establishment and promotion of what is in essence an imagined community of film festival theorists it seems a pity that we must wait another year for the next in the series.

Alex Fischer,
Bond University, Australia.

Created on: Monday, 23 August 2010