Global Women Filmmakers

The course focuses on rethinking the notion of film auteurism by engaging with the work of a number of global women filmmakers. We will look at how contexts of production and reception impact the work of female filmmakers, and we will explore a variety of issues regarding female agency and women¿s access to the means of production and distribution. What is the role of film festivals for the circulation of films made by women? Where are these films available and for which audience? In what ways are diasporic women filmmakers contributing to decolonising the gaze? How can we rethink the history of cinema in light of women¿s overlooked presence since its inception? Combining theories from film studies, feminist and gender studies, and postcolonial feminist theories, the course investigates the concept of auteurism and the ways it has contributed to promoting a sexist perspective in which female agency is understood as secondary. We will look at the political necessity for female authorship and how it has been differently articulated according to historical, cultural, economic and political contexts. To this end, we will engage with a variety of films made by women, considering the role of the festival circuits; re-thinking the history of cinema, which has been constructed as male- and Western-centred; and examining how the work of diasporic women filmmakers is conducive to the process of decolonising the gaze. Particular attention will be given to issues of female agency both within the films (to what extent can the female characters exercise choice under patriarchy?) and in the context of production and reception (women filmmakers¿ access to the means of production and distribution), and how they reflect broader issues regarding women and/in the arts.   Credit levels: 11 Year taken: Postgraduate SCQF credits: 20