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The University of Southampton
FilmPart of HumanitiesPostgraduate study

Mr Arne Saeys 

Postgraduate research student

Mr Arne Saeys's photo

Mr Arne Saeys is a Postgraduate research student within Film at the University of Southampton.

2004  MA in Psychology, Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium
2007  MA in Social & Cultural Anthropology, Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium

2007 Research Assistant, European Centre for Ethics, Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium

2007-2010 Marie Curie Early Stage Researcher, Radio, Television and Cinema Department, Kadir Has University, Turkey

2012  Adjunct Lecturer, Saint-Louis University Madrid Campus, Spain

Imag(in)ed Diversity. Towards A European World Cinema'

My research investigates how national film industries in Europe imagine global scripts of cultural diversity. On the one hand, the recent celebration of cultural diversity opens up opportunities for the self-expression of cultural minorities. On the other hand, an overemphasis on cultural identities might lead to a reification of stereotypical images and practices of (self-) exoticisation. Through the lens of transnational cinema, my research aims to be a critique of postcolonial, Third Cinema and multicultural theories. Against the a priori categorisation of non-Western migrant filmmakers as ‘intercultural' (Marks 2000) or ‘accented' (Naficy 2001), I argue that the work of these film directors needs to be understood in the context of the global film industry where national film productions are increasingly subjected to the rules of the capitalist world economy.

By comparing different national film industries in Europe, I want to demonstrate how national contexts shape the production and reception of films made by directors with a non-Western background. My central argument is that European cinemas need to be reframed as World Cinema as the conventional distinctions between Hollywood, European cinema and Third Cinema become increasingly blurred in a globalised world.

Supervisors:  Prof. Tim Bergfelder, Prof. Lucy Mazdon

Mr Arne Saeys
Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Southampton, Avenue Campus, Southampton. SO17 1BF United Kingdom
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