European Cinemas: Art, Industry, Entertainment

Module title	European Cinemas: Art, Industry, Entertainment
Module code	EAF2512
Academic year	2019/0
Credits	30
Module staff	Dr Fiona Handyside (Convenor)

Duration: Term	1	2	3
Duration: Weeks		11

Number students taking module (anticipated)	32

Module description

This is a module that introduces you to the diverse and complex production, distribution, and exhibition histories of European cinemas. We will study some of European cinema’s most famous films, made by world-renowned auteur directors and we will ask how and why these films are so important for the image of European cinema as art cinema. We will also think about how European cinema is an industry and a form of entertainment. We will see how European cinema is a counterweight to Hollywood, and how it both struggles against, and thrives alongside, its great cinematic rival.

Module aims - intentions of the module

On this module you will study European cinema from 1960 to the present day. A wide range of major European film producing countries will be examined, including France, Spain, Italy, and Germany, as well as smaller nations such as Sweden, Ireland and Denmark. Some of the most significant and important films ever made will be covered, with the module examining critically how cinema comes to be understood as ‘art’ the equal of painting and literature in this model. European cinema also aims to offer entertainment to domestic and international audiences. Various EU policy initiatives and film festivals held in Europe seek to provide it with a firm industrial footing. This module aims to analyse how successfully or otherwise European cinema navigates between its status as art, entertainment, and creative industry.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

1. Appreciate of the critical debates around European cinema and its status as art, entertainment, and industry
2. Analyse film texts using appropriate formal and critical terminologies
3. Connect at an advanced level the formal analysis of film to the broader conceptual questions raised by the module

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

4. Demonstrate autonomous skills in the research and evaluation of relevant critical and historical materials for the study of film
5. Understand and analyse relevant theoretical ideas, and apply these ideas to films
6. Analyse films of different origins at a sophisticated and intellectually mature level

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

7. Through essay-writing and other assignments, demonstrate research and bibliographic skills, an advanced and intellectually mature capacity to construct a coherent, substantiated argument and to write clear and correct prose
8. Through research and essay writing demonstrate an advanced and intellectually mature capacity to question assumptions, to distinguish between fact and opinion, and to critically reflect on your own learning process
9. Through the planning and organisation of research projects, demonstrate independence of thought and confidence in developing ideas and formulating questions
10. Through responses to constructive feedback, demonstrate an advanced and intellectually mature ability to reflect upon and strengthen your work

Syllabus plan

The module surveys the history of European cinema from c.1960 to the present day. It takes a topic-based approach, first exploring European cinema’s status as art cinema, and its negotiation with Hollywood cinema; second examining how European cinema is financed, and the importance of film festivals; and lastly through considering European stars and stardom. It looks at major trends, exemplary films, and the industrial, creative, and cultural contexts that shape them.

All films selected for study will be subtitled in English.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
98.5	201.5	0

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching	16.5	Lectures (1x1.5 hrs for 11 weeks)
Scheduled Learning and Teaching	60	Screenings (2x3hrs for 10 weeks)
Scheduled Learning and Teaching	22	Seminars (1x2hrs for 11 weeks)
Guided Independent Study	100.5	Essay research and preparation
Guided Independent Study	70	Seminar preparation (individual)
Guided Independent Study	31	Seminar presentation preparation (group)

Formative assessment

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Group seminar presentation	15 minutes	1-10	Oral with tutorial feedback

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
90	0	10

Details of summative assessment

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Essay	60	2500 words	1-10	Written
Sequence analysis	30	1500 words	1-10	Written
Seminar participation	10	Continuous	1-10	Written

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
Essay	Essay (2500 words)	1-10	Referral/deferral period
Sequence analysis	Sequence analysis (1500 words)	1-10	Referral/deferral period
Seminar participation	Mitigation/repeat study	1-10	Referral/deferral period

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Indicative core viewing:

Bergman, Wild Strawberries, 1959
Fellini, 8and a Half, 1963
Sirk, All That Heaven Allows, 1956
Fassbinder, Fear Eats the Soul, 1974
Lang, The Big Heat, 1955
Becker, Hands off the Loot, 1954
Beineix, Diva, 1981
Almodovar, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Break Down, 1988
Varda, Vagabond, 1985
Harkin, Hush-a-bye-baby, 1990
Kassovitz, La Haine, 1995
Boyle, Trainspotting, 1995
Vadim, And God Created Woman, 1956
Boon, Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis, 2008
Jeunet, Amelie, 2001
Allen, Vicki, Cristina, Barcelona, 2008
Amenabar, The Sea Inside, 2004
Kieslowski, Three Colours Blue, 1992
Haneke, Hidden, 2005

Basic reading:

Diana Holmes and Alison Smith, eds 100 Years of European Cinema: Entertaining Ideologies (Manchester, 2000)
Elizabeth Ezra, ed European Cinema (Oxford University Press, 2004)
Catherine Fowler, European Cinema Reader (Routledge, 2002)
Vanessa Schwartz, It’s so French! Hollywood, Paris, and the Making of Cosmopolitan Film Culture (Chicago, 2007)
Ginette Vincendeau and Richard Dyer, Popular European Cinema (Routledge, 1992)
Jill Forbes and Sarah Street, eds European Cinema: An Introduction (Macmillan, 2000)
Mette Hjort, Purity and Provocation: Dogme 95 (BFI, 2003)
Chris Perriam, Stars and Masculinities in Spanish Cinema: From Banderas to Bardem (Oxford University Press, 2003)
Mary Wood, Contemporary European Cinema (Bloomsbury, 2007)
Ginette Vincendeau, Stars and Stardom in the French Cinema (Continuum, 2000)

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

ELE page

Key words search

European cinema, industry, entertainment, art cinema

Credit value	30
Module ECTS	15
Module pre-requisites	None
Module co-requisites	None
NQF level (module)	5
Available as distance learning?	Yes
Origin date	01/05/2018
Last revision date	28/02/2019