In Production Studies (2009) and Production Studies, The Sequel! (2016), Vicky Mayer, Miranda Banks, John Caldwell and Bridget Conor asked media scholars from different disciplines to discuss the concept of Production Culture. Media workers are seen as “cultural actors” (2009, 2) whose practices and discourses shape the film industry culture. This approach thus favours a focus on “the lived realities of people involved in the media production” (2009, 4) as well as specific case studies and “grounded data” (2016, x). The institutional context remains a key element to comprehend film realities since a production culture exists in the tension “between individuals’ agency and the social conditions within which agency is embedded.” (2016, x). Production Studies rest on two questions: “How do media producers represent themselves (…)? How do we, as researchers, then represent those varied and contested representations?” (2009, 4). … Continuer la lecture de « The Transcultural Production Studies Project »
Transcultural Film and Television Producers Working Across the ‘Hispanic Atlantic’
Christopher Meir (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid / Tecmerin Research Group) and Miguel Fernández Labayen (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid / Tecmerin Research Group)
The producer continues to be neglected in Film and Television Studies, even with the emergence of Media Industry Studies and Production Studies, two subfields that one would have thought would draw more attention to this vital figure. This paucity of studies of film and television producers is all the more curious amid the broader turn in Film and Television Studies towards questions of the transnational, when after all the producer also typically plays a vital role as a cultural and industrial intermediary between national industries (Meir 2012, Meir 2014).
Using case studies of the Spanish-based producer Pedro Uriol and the production company El Estudio, a joint venture launched in 2019 by producers in Spain and Mexico (Enrique López Lavigne, Pablo Cruz and Diego Suárez Chivalo), this presentation will use the producer to illuminate a very particular and important transnational network: that which links the film and television industries of Spain and Latin America across the Hispanic Atlantic (D’Lugo 2009). Collectively, the four producers examined here have produced numerous works that have featured transnational elements drawn from across the Spanish-speaking world, including the film The Dance of the 41, and the series El diablero, The Taco Chronicles among others.
The analyses of Uriol’s oeuvre and that of El Estudio will be developed using original fieldwork interviews, as well as methods drawn from studies of producers (typified by Spicer et al 2014) and studies of cinematic transnationalism (e.g. Hjort 2010, Binimelis, Cerdán and Fernández Labayen 2015). Focusing on the agency of these producers and examining their respective oeuvres, the seminar will argue that Uriol and the team behind El Estudio play vital roles in forging connections between creative talents in Spain and Latin America and then later acting as intermediaries between these talents and the global distribution companies that ultimately circulate these works.
Bibliography
Binimelis, M.; Cerdán, J. and Fernández Labayen, M. (2015), ‘In and out: the transnational circulation of Spanish cinema in digital times,’ Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies, 15(1), pp. 1-8.
D’Lugo, M. (2009), ‘Across the Hispanic Atlantic: Cinema and Its Symbolic Relocations,’ Studies in Hispanic Cinemas, 5(1-2), pp. 3-7.Hjort, M. (2010), ‘On the Plurality of Cinematic Transnationalism,’ World Cinemas, Transnational Perspectives, eds. Nataša Ďurovičová & Kathleen E. Newman. New York and London: Routledge, pp. 12-33.
Meir, C. (2012), ‘Ismail Merchant, Harry Alan Towers and Post-Imperial “British” Cinema.’ The Journal of British Cinema and Television 9(1), pp. 58-76.Meir, C. (2014), ‘Post-Imperial Producers: Emile Sherman, Iain Canning and Contemporary Anglo-Australian Cinema.’ In Andrew Spicer, Anthony McKenna and Christopher Meir (eds.), Beyond the Bottom Line: The Producer in Film and Television Studies. London: Bloomsbury, pp. 265-281.Spicer, A., A.T. McKenna and C. Meir (2014), ‘Introduction,’ In Andrew Spicer, Anthony McKenna and Christopher Meir (eds.), Beyond the Bottom Line: The Producer in Film and Television Studies. London: Bloomsbury, pp. 1-24.
Christopher Meir is Assistant Professor in Communication at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. His most recent book is Mass Producing European Cinema: Studiocanal and its Works and he was also co-editor with Andrew Spicer and A.T. McKenna of the book Beyond the Bottom-Line: The Producer in Film and Television Studies. He has also published another monograph (Scottish Cinema: Texts and Contexts) and numerous articles and book chapters on the global film and television industries and their impact on film history. He is currently working on a project on Netflix original movies and is a member of the team working on the nationally funded research project ‘Cinematic Cartographies of Mobility in the Hispanic Atlantic,’ based at the Universidad de Carlos III de Madrid.
Miguel Fernández Labayen is associate professor in the department of Communication at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and a member of the research group Tecmerin. His work on media industries has appeared on the Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies, the Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies and Communications: The European Journal of Communication Research among others. Current lines of inquiry include work on the production and circulation of film remakes across the Spanish-speaking world and a study on the transnational mobility of Spanish film professionals. He co-directs the book series “Pantallas iberoamericanas / Ibero-American Screens” for Peter Lang and is the co-PI of the research project ‘Cinematic Cartographies of Mobility in the Hispanic Atlantic,’ funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.
The TPS Organizing Team
Project leader
Nolwenn Mingant
Nolwenn Mingant is a Professor in US History and Film Studies at the University of Angers, France. She is the author of Hollywood à la conquête du monde (CNRS Editions, 2010), and co-editor of Film Marketing into the Twenty-First Century (with C. Tirtaine, J. Augros, British Film Institute/Palgrave, 2015) and Reconceptualising Film Policies (with C. Tirtaine, Routledge, 2018). A co-founder of CinEcoSA, her areas of expertise are the international circulation of Hollywood cinema, especially in North Africa and the Middle East, film marketing, film policies, and audiovisual translation.
Nolwenn Mingant est Professeure d’Histoire et Culture des Etats-Unis à l’Université d’Angers. Elle est l’autrice de Hollywood à la conquête du monde (CNRS Editions, 2010) et co-directrice de FIlm Marketing into the Twenty-First Century (avec C. Tirtaine et J. Augros, BFI/Palgrave, 2015) et Reconceptualising Film Policies (avec C. Tirtaine, Routledge, 2018). Ses domaines d’expertise sont: la circulation internationale du cinéma hollywoodien (particulièrement en Afrique du Nord et au Moyen-Orient), le marketing cinématographique, les politiques publiques et la traduction audiovisuelle.
Organizing Team
Joël Augros
Joël Augros is a Professor in Film and Media Studies at the University Bordeaux Montaigne. His area of expertise is film industries especially in the US, France, China and India, through an political economy approach. A co-founder of CinEcoSA, Joël Augros co-edited Film Marketing into the Twenty-First Century (with C. Tirtaine, N. Mingant, British Film Institute/Palgrave, 2015).
Joël Augros est Professeur en études cinématographiques et audiovisuelles à l’Université Bordeaux Montaigne (ARTES). Docteur en sciences économiques, il a travaillé sur l’économie du cinéma hollywoodien comme français, chinois ou indien. Il s’intéresse, en général, à une économie politique du cinéma… Auteur, co-auteur ou coordonnateur de plusieurs ouvrages.
Bérénice Bonhomme
Bérénice Bonhomme is a Senior Lecurer in Film Studies at the University Toulouse II-Jean Jaurès (ENSAV). She is a Junior member of the Institut Universitaire de France. Her areas of expertise are: relations between film technology and creation, the filming crew; animation production. She published Les Techniques du cinéma (Dixit, 2010) and is currently developing a research project on French directors of photography and digital technologies. She is the co-founder of “Création Collective au Cinéma” with Katalin Pór.
Bérénice Bonhommme est Maîtresse de conférence en cinéma à l’Université de Toulouse II Jean Jaurès (ENSAV) et membre du laboratoire de recherche LARA-SEPPIA. Elle est membre junior de l’Institut Universitaire de France. Actuellement elle travaille sur les thématiques suivantes : la technique cinématographique dans son rapport à la création ; La question de l’équipe de film ; La fabrique de l’animation. Elle a publié Les Techniques du cinéma (Dixit, 2010) et développe un projet de recherche sur les chefs opérateurs français dans leur lien au numérique, sujet sur lequel elle a écrit plusieurs articles. Elle coordonne, en outre, avec Katalin Pór un programme de recherche sur l’équipe de film intitulé : « Création Collective au Cinéma ».
Patricia Caillé
Patricie Caillé is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Information and Communication at the IUT Robert Schuman (Université of Strasbourg). Her area sof expertise are cinema of the Maghreb, women filmmakers and film circulation. She co-founded the research network HESCALE (Histoire, économie, sociologie des cinéma d’Afrique et du Moyen-Orient). She co-edited :« Circulation des films : Afrique du Nord et Moyen Orient » (Dossier Africultures nº101-102, 2016), Regarder des films en Afriques (Septentrion, 2017), Pratiques et usages du film : Tunisie, Maroc, Tchad, Togo (Septentrion, 2019), Mise au Point n°13 on « Le cinéma européen » (2020), and À l’œuvre en cinéma! Professionnelles en Afrique et au Moyen-Orient (L’Harmattan, 2022).
Enseignante-chercheuse au département information-communication, IUT Robert Schuman à l’Université de Strasbourg / CREM. Elle a coordonné, partagé la responsabilité scientifique et l’organisation de plusieurs projets de recherche qui portent sur les cinémas du Maghreb, les réalisatrices, la circulation des films, etc. Cofondatrice en 2016 du réseau de recherches international et multidisciplinaire HESCALE (Histoire, économie, sociologie des cinémas d’Afrique et du Moyen-Orient), elle a codirigé « Circulation des films : Afrique du Nord et Moyen Orient » (Dossier Africultures nº101-102, 2016), Regarder des films en Afriques (Septentrion, 2017), Pratiques et usages du film : Tunisie, Maroc, Tchad, Togo (Septentrion, 2019), le nᵒ13 de Mise au Point sur « Le cinéma européen » (2020), and À l’œuvre en cinéma! Professionnelles en Afrique et au Moyen-Orient (L’Harmattan, 2022).
Katalin Pór
Katalin Pór is a Senior Lecturer in Film Studies at the University of Lorraine and Junior member of the Institut Universitaire de France (IUF). Her areas of expertise are creative process in Classical Hollywood cinema and exchanges between Europe and Hollywood. She is currently studying politicisation processes in Hollywood films between 1933 and 1947. She recently published Lubitsch à Hollywood. L’exercice du pouvoir créatif dans les studios (Paris, Editions du CNRS, 2021).
Katalin Pór est maîtresse de conférences HDR en Etudes Cinématographiques à l’Université de Lorraine, membre du 2L2S et de l’Institut Universitaire de France (IUF). Elle travaille sur les processus créatifs dans les studios hollywoodiens, sur les modalités de circulations entre Europe et Hollywood, ainsi qu’entre les différentes industries spectaculaires. Ses travaux actuels portent sur l’observation des processus de politisation des films hollywoodiens entre 1933 et 1947. Elle a récemment publié Lubitsch à Hollywood. L’exercice du pouvoir créatif dans les studios, Paris, Editions du CNRS, 2021.
Christel Taillibert
Christel Taillibert is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Information and Education at the University Côte d’Azur. Her areas of expertise are mediations between cinema and education though a transhistoric approach, the specificities of the French cinéphilie, and the mutation of the production, consumption and circulation of film and TV products in the digital era.
Christel Taillibert est Maître de conférences HDR en Sciences de l’information et de la communication à l’Université Côte d’Azur. Ses travaux de recherche, au sein du LIRCES (Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Récits, Cultures et Sociétés), interrogent les médiations cinéma/éducation dans une perspective transhistorique, les spécificités françaises du système cinéphile, ainsi que les mutations des environnements de production, de circulation et de consommation des œuvres cinématographiques et audiovisuelles à l’heure du numérique.
Cecilia Tirtaine
Cecilia Tirtaine is a Senior Lecturer in British History and Culture at the University of Nantes. Her areas of expertise are the British film industry, film policies in Great-Britain and the representation of Britishness in films. A founding member of CinEcoSA, she co-edited Film Marketing into the Twenty-First Century (with N. Mingant et J. Augros, British Film Institute/Palgrave Macmillan, 2015) et Reconceptualising Film Policies (with N. Mingant, Routledge, 2018).
Cecilia Tirtaine est Maître de conférences à l’Université de Nantes et membre du CRINI (Centre de Recherche sur les Identités, les Nations et l’Interculturalité). Ses recherches portent principalement sur l’industrie du cinéma britannique, les politiques de l’audiovisuel au Royaume-Uni et l’identité du cinéma britannique. Elle a co-dirigé les ouvrages suivants : Film Marketing into the Twenty-First Century (avec N. Mingant et J. Augros, British Film Institute/Palgrave Macmillan, 2015) et Reconceptualising Film Policies (avec N. Mingant, Routledge, 2018). Elle est membre fondateur de CinEcoSA.
Ana Vinuela
Ana Vinuela is a Senior Lecturer in the Film and Media Studies Department at the University Sorbonne Nouvelle, with a background in Information and Communication Science. Her areas of expertise are the impact of political-institutional players on media indsutries and markets. She particularly focuses on intermediaries such as producers, distributors, exporters, agregators and digital platforms.
Ana Vinuela est maître de conférences en Sciences de l’information et de la communication à l’Université Sorbonne Nouvelle et membre de l’IRCAV (Institut de recherche sur le cinéma et l’audiovisuel). Ses recherches portent principalement sur les logiques des acteurs politico-institutionnels, et la manière dont leurs interventions structurent et accompagnent les transformations des industries et des marchés de l’audiovisuel, et sur les stratégies et les pratiques de plusieurs catégories d’intermédiaires : producteurs, distributeurs, exportateurs, agrégateurs et plateformes numériques.