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The article focuses on A24's role in shaping the narrative of Asian American prestige films, particularly in the context of their recent success at the Oscars. Topics discussed include the studio's blueprint for the "Asian American prestige film," its distribution strategies, and the tension between shaping authenticity and finding it in independent cinema.

The article focuses on celebrating B. Ruby Rich's ten-year tenure as editor-in-chief of Film Quarterly, highlighting her diverse and extensive contributions to the field. Topics discussed include Rich's background, her impact on independent cinema and documentary politics, and her innovative approach to expanding the journal's reach through live events and online content.

Many indie films made between 2010 and 2021 like I Meghadhanushya i in 2013 (a Gujarati film), I Unfreedom i in 2016, I Dear Dad i in 2016, and I Evening Shadows i in 2018 address several LGBTQ+, religion, gender, caste-based themes which mainstream Bollywood films conveniently avoid. At a time when most mainstream Bollywood films are being used to further the agenda of those in power in constructing an idea of India that suits their vision, these new indie films are resisting the same by reflecting on the hard-hitting realities of the time. In Chapter 6 (Essential indies: concise case studies; conclusion), the author concludes by reiterating the parameters that make the new indie films different from mainstream Bollywood films and dwells on the possibilities they bring for the future of Indian cinema. Having deliberated at length the concept of Indian indies and their growing numbers after 2010, the author concludes by reiterating the parameters that make new indie films different from mainstream Bollywood films. [Extracted from the article]

The Ethiopian film industry has faced challenges in terms of growth and development compared to other African countries. Despite an increase in film production, the industry has not seen corresponding improvements in revenues or job opportunities. The industry operates outside an established formal structure, leading to issues with production facilities, market organization, regulations, and international relationships. The government's unwillingness or inability to support the industry has hindered its growth, with high taxes on imported equipment and a lack of understanding of the industry's potential contributions. Additionally, the industry relies on individuals with little professional training, which limits its long-term success. The industry also faces challenges such as a lack of formal training institutions, limited distribution channels, and inadequate cinema halls. These issues result in poor quality films, plagiarism, copyright infringement, and piracy, leading to significant revenue loss. To address these challenges, stakeholders should raise awareness about the cultural and economic importance of film, establish film production programs, and create dedicated spaces for events and programs. The Ethiopian International Film Festival (EARTHOPIAN) provides opportunities for filmmakers to showcase their work and learn from industry peers, but other events like the Guma Film Award have been criticized for their inconsistency and lack of support for the film community. Ethiopia needs a more formal industry structure, including a national film policy, to address issues such as education, funding, and distribution. The lack of resources and reliable data on film revenue further complicates the industry's development. Despite these challenges, the Ethiopian film industry has the potential [Extracted from the article]

This article provides an overview of the development of New Pakistani Cinema, which has been influenced by technological advancements and global industry changes. It examines the impact of political and social factors, including religion, on the evolution of Pakistani cinema. The article discusses the challenges faced by the industry, such as censorship and the closure of cinemas during the pandemic. It also explores the historical context of cinema in Pakistan, including the influence of political events and the dominance of regional languages. The article highlights the class segregation in cinema attendance, the emergence of Pakistani films addressing social and political issues, and the influence of Bollywood and Hollywood on Pakistani cinema. It addresses the impact of political tensions between India and Pakistan on the film industry, including bans on Pakistani artists in India and restrictions on Indian content in Pakistan. The article also discusses censorship issues faced by Pakistani filmmakers and the role of streaming platforms in providing alternative distribution channels. It examines the challenges and restrictions faced by filmmakers in Pakistan, highlighting the contrasting responses to different films, such as the government support for the popular drama Ertuğrul and the banning of the film Joyland, which explores transgender issues. The article compares the proactive and reactive measures of censorship in Pakistan and Iran and their impact on filmmakers. It concludes by discussing the uncertain future of Pakistani cinema and the potential role of platforms like YouTube in reaching audiences. [Extracted from the article]

This article examines whether sustainability concerns play and should play any role in EU merger control. While competition authorities have commenced exploring pathways to excuse prima facie anticompetitive mergers on sustainability grounds, little progress has been made in setting out whether and under which conditions mergers that adversely affect sustainability parameters can be found anticompetitive. Under the EU merger control regime, the adverse effects of mergers on sustainability are only cognizable as innovation-related issues, as recently evidenced in Dow/Dupont and Bayer/Monsanto. In these cases, the Commission pioneered a novel approach aimed at predicting the impact of a merger not only on prices but also on innovation competition. This theory of harm, although a welcome improvement to the current framework of merger analysis, fails to accommodate all competition-relevant sustainability concerns because of its exclusive focus on innovation capabilities, efforts, and output. On this basis, we argue that innovation competition should not be understood only as an output-maximizing device but also as a polycentric process under which independent decision-makers pursue various innovation paths. Such an approach gives prominence to the diversity, quality, and direction of innovation and constitutes an alternative to the predominant output-centred understanding of innovation. To operationalize this notion of innovation competition as a polycentric process we explore four pathways: adopting quality-related and sustainability-sensitive innovation metrics; using indicators of industry-wide structural effects; endorsing a structural filter; and protecting nascent competitors. Adding such an approach to the existing analytical framework would, arguably, enable the Commission to deal with all sustainability concerns related to the notion of innovation competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Their high tunability of electronic and magnetic properties makes transition‐metal oxides (TMOs) highly intriguing for fundamental studies and promising for a wide range of applications. TMOs with strong ferrimagnetism provide new platforms for tailoring the anomalous Hall effect (AHE) beyond conventional concepts based on ferromagnets, and particularly TMOs with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) are of prime importance for today's spintronics. This study reports on transport phenomena and magnetic characteristics of the ferrimagnetic TMO NiCo2O4 (NCO) exhibiting PMA. The entire electrical and magnetic properties of NCO films are strongly correlated with their conductivities governed by the cation valence states. The AHE exhibits an unusual sign reversal resulting from a competition between intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms depending on the conductivity, which can be tuned by the synthesis conditions independent of the film thickness. Importantly, skew‐scattering is identified as an AHE contribution for the first time in the low‐conductivity regime. Application wise, the robust PMA without thickness limitation constitutes a major advantage compared to conventional PMA materials utilized in today's spintronics. The great potential for applications is exemplified by two proposed novel device designs consisting only of NCO films that open a new route for future spintronics, such as ferrimagnetic high‐density memories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay examines the impact of the contemporary praise and worship music industry on the songs available to worship leaders. It focuses on the dominance of a few church groups, including Bethel Music, Elevation Worship, Hillsong Worship, and Passion, in contributing a significant number of top songs in this genre. The study analyzes data from the CCLI and PraiseCharts top song lists, which provide insights into the songs used in evangelical, charismatic, and Pentecostal churches. The authors find that a small number of church bands and artists have a strong influence on the industry, with 95% of the top 25 songs being linked to four church bands. The article also highlights the challenges faced by independent songwriters in gaining recognition in this industry. Overall, the study provides valuable insights into the mechanisms and trends that shape the contemporary praise and worship music landscape. [Extracted from the article]

Growing up in Ireland, Ted Carroll came of age during the rock 'n' roll boom of the late 1950s, and ultimately moved to London where he set up the Rock On record stall near Portobello Market in 1971. Rock On, which later opened as a shop in Camden, would play a huge role in the underground music scene throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and the record label that grew out of it, Chiswick Records, was one of the first independent labels in the United Kingdom to release punk records by a number of key bands. Carroll and his partners would go on to expand and diversify their output, particularly on the enduringly successful reissue label, Ace. Carroll has opened a new Rock On shop in the last year, and here discusses collecting, punk rock and independent labels with Michael Connerty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BRUNEL UNIVERSITY LONDON'S GEOFF KING has repeatedly demonstrated an affinity for transgressive, rule-breaking cinema, both in his work on comedy and his books on American independent film. With his newest [...]

In 1972, the Japanese entertainment listings magazine Pia was established, providing information on film screenings, theatre and concert events happening in Tokyo each month. It quickly cultivated an engaged readership of teenagers and young adults. Among this readership were participants of a burgeoning nationwide phenomenon of do-it-yourself film production, referred to in Japanese as jishu seisaku eiga (meaning 'self-made films'), which typically saw young, aspiring filmmakers produce short and feature-length narrative works using 8 mm (and sometimes 16 mm) film cameras. This article contextualises the emergence of Pia magazine and its role in centralising and providing opportunities to Japan's growing 'self-made' filmmaking community throughout the 1970s, 1980s and beyond. This can be viewed on two fronts: firstly, from within the pages of the magazine itself and its strategies to stimulate reader-to-cinema engagement; and, secondly, through the magazine's organisation of an annual self-made film screening event in the late 1970s that would come to be known as the Pia Film Festival (PFF). PFF remains an essential national showcase for new Japanese filmmakers to this day, but, more importantly, it would herald its own system of independent film production in the form of the PFF Scholarship. This article concludes with a discussion about the PFF Scholarship, and its importance at a time when early career filmmakers were struggling within the Japanese film industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides an overview of the early version of a film called "Carriage Trade," originally titled "Tuxedo Theatre." It was screened at the Jewish Museum in New York in 1969 as part of an avant-garde film series organized by Jonas Mekas. P. Adams Sitney reviewed the film, praising its editing style and radical displacements. The article also mentions the Tuxedo Theater in Brooklyn, which may have influenced the film's title. The film offers insight into Warren Sonbert's unique editing style and can be seen as an early version of "Carriage Trade." Sonbert was a filmmaker known for his attention to detail and sense of humor, with his later works showing more skill and camera awareness. His films, such as "Where Did Our Love Go" and "The Bad and the Beautiful," explored different subjects and featured soundtracks of 1950s rock and roll songs. Sonbert's last film, "The Tuxedo Theater," was his most complex and sophisticated, drawing inspiration from Jean-Luc Godard's techniques. Sonbert aimed to create films that generated their own sound and established a connection between the viewer and the images on screen. [Extracted from the article]

"The Tenth Legion" is a film by Warren Sonbert that was thought to be lost but was discovered after his death. The film follows the daily lives of young protagonists, showing both their work and leisure activities. Sonbert creates a narrative structure through the repetition of daily events and pop songs on the soundtrack. The film explores themes of ambition and youth, ending with Frank Sinatra's song "Young at Heart." Sonbert's films are known for their recognizable style and focus on little moments that may seem ordinary but hold significance. [Extracted from the article]

This article provides a brief overview of Warren Sonbert's cinematic development, focusing on his early films. Sonbert, born in 1947 in Brooklyn, New York, showed an early interest in film and music. He gained an education in film culture by attending screenings at the Bleecker Street Cinema, where he was exposed to experimental films and Hollywood classics. Sonbert was associated with the Warhol Factory scene and incorporated diverse cinematic strategies in his films, including in-camera editing and montage. He paid homage to various filmmakers in his work, blending elements of commercial narrative filmmaking with his own unique style. [Extracted from the article]

Au début des années 1990, malgré un contexte sociopolitique difficile, une relève du cinéma turc était signalée par la naissance d'un cinéma d'auteur qui se décrivait comme un « nouveau cinéma indépendant ». Ces jeunes réalisateurs n'étaient pas tout à fait liés les uns aux autres et créaient plutôt une « alluvion », selon les mots de Dervis Zaim. Suivant le succès de Nuri Bilge Ceylan aux festivals de Cannes à compter de 2003, le nombre de ces cinéastes « indépendants » a considérablement augmenté, et le style minimaliste de Ceylan est devenu un modèle à imiter pour les jeunes artistes. La présente étude vise essentiellement à analyser le contexte du « nouveau cinéma turc » des années 2000 (jusqu'en 2010) afin de déterminer si les préférences esthétiques de cette nouvelle génération ont marqué la naissance d'un nouveau « mouvement cinématographique ». À cet égard, la présente étude propose de redéfinir les théories contemporaines du cinéma national, surtout dans la sphère anglo-américaine, qui remettent en question l'homogénéité de la nation tout en conservant l'importance de l'indépendance financière. Le présent article, donc, fusionne certains concepts théoriques comme le cinéma national, le cinéma indépendant et le « festivalisme » pour mettre en évidence l'influence du système néolibéral globalisé sur les milieux intellectuels auxquels les jeunes cinéastes appartiennent. In the early 1990s, despite a difficult sociopolitical context, there was a revival of Turkish film as auteur films emerged, described as new independent cinema. These young directors were not entirely connected to one another and created more of an "alluvion," according to Dervis Zaim. Following the success of Nuri Bilge Ceylan at the Cannes Festivals starting in 2003, the number of these independent filmmakers increased considerably, and Ceylan's minimalist style became a model to imitate for young artists. The present study aims to analyze the context of "new Turkish cinema" of the 2000s (until 2010) to determine if the esthetic preferences of this new generation marked the birth of a new "film movement." In this respect, the present study proposes to redefine contemporary theories of national cinema, especially in the Anglo-American context, which call into question the homogeneity of a nation while preserving the importance of financial independence. This article therefore merges certain theoretical concepts such as national cinema, indpendent cinema and "festivalism" to demonstrate the influence of the globalized neo-liberal system on the intellectual communities to which these young filmmakers belong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study discusses the current Turkish women's cinema through the films, Mavi Dalga (2013, Blue Wave) and İşe Yarar Bir Şey (2017, Something Useful) by exploring the definitions of women's cinema. This article aims to examine the point of women's films in contemporary Turkish cinema by referring to the previous discussions on women's cinema and addressing the portrayal of women in films that fall under women's films. The films Mavi Dalga and İşe Yarar Bir Şey, depict women as the saviour and as active, self-sufficient, economically independent, not dependent on men, and following their wishes instead of becoming passive, harmonious, and stuck in the narrow patterns of life in this world, although they want to get rid of the practices of the male world. These films define the woman as a vital, independent, helpful subject in solidarity with her fellows discussed by Smelik's definition of women's cinema. The films comply with Johnston's claims that women are included in the narrative of women's films by the audience. Moreover, these films identify with the main character, and they stand at an essential point in Turkish cinema with their independent and powerful depiction of women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout its history, Thai cinema has been entangled with institutions of state power. Through invasive systems of censorship and discursive regulation, the state not only regulates public expressions but also sculpts particular forms of national identity, silencing other forms of remembrance and identification. Against these pressures, independent filmmakers in Thailand creatively negotiate the boundaries of state censorship through silences, narrative discontinuities and elliptical plot structures to simultaneously evade state censorship and renegotiate national systems of memorialisation under military rule. This paper investigates how the Thammasat University Massacre is remediated through Anocha Suwichakornpong's 2016 film Dao khanong (By the Time It Gets Dark), and finds that the film intentionally evades direct representation of the massacre to instead disarticulate national memory cultures and reimagine unconsolidated futures disentangled from institutions of authoritarian power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This study examines the complexities of the social problems of Pakistan explained by Pakistani independent filmmakers in their films. Four independent films that were produced in the past two decades by two Pakistani filmmakers, Shoaib Mansoor and Sabiha Sumar, were analyzed for their discourses. The findings show that the directors articulated the dynamics of women’s oppression and the sociopolitical climate of Pakistan by using their own distinctive approaches. The films centered mainly on a critique of Islamic fundamentalism and patriarchal culture as the main driving forces of social problems that determine women’s status in Pakistan. In the process of articulating the complexity of social problems, it was evident that Mansoor represented the problem in a cultural context by placing certain ethnic identities as the causal agents while Sumar framed the problem to be driven mainly by certain ideological forces. Furthermore, Mansoor's movies portrayed a more optimistic viewpoint, suggesting that women's rights could be advanced through current legal measures and economic changes within the country. Sumar’s films, on the other hand, were more realistic, representing the prevailing status of women in Pakistani society. Her films suggest that women’s empowerment in the existing social system and state institutions is improbable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The essay discusses engaged documentary cinema in independent Slovenia. It focuses on the aspects of political engagement that address the deprived, underprivileged or oppressed communities and groups in contemporary Slovenian society. In the most unenviable position among them are members of the Roma community, the administratively erased inhabitants stripped of all their civil rights, exploited seasonal workers, representatives of the LGBTQIA+ community and the like. The discussion devotes its main attention to the operation of the informal collective Newsreel Front and its latest project “If the Forests Could Talk, They Would Dry Up with Sadness”, which documents the tragic situation of the refugees on the so-called “Balkan route” and their attempts at crossing the border between Croatia and Slovenia, fenced off with a razor wire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]