We are seeking paper submissions for a pre-constituted panel at the 2018 SCMS conference in Toronto. The panel, titled, “Okja and the Neflix’s Blockbuster Future,” will explore a range of issues the Neflix original movie Okja has raised in the Summer 2017. The Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s multinational sci-fi fantasy film became the subject of an intense debate over the conflict between theatrical release and online streaming. The strong resistance from the French theaters resulted in Neflix’s disqualification from future years in competition at Cannes. In Korea, major theater chains boycotted the release of Okja in protest of Neflix’s plan to simultaneous release the film in the theaters and on its streaming service simultaneously. Okja is not the first Neflix original movie but it became the film that opened up a continued debate over the future shift in film distribution. 

Okja also raised issues pertaining to the creative freedom and authorship in film. Neflix gave Bong the right to the final cut and a $50-million budget—a mid-level size movie that has virtually disappeared from Hollywood. Okja is a socially conscious, political film that deals with corporate greed, environmental issues and animal rights through the story about genetically engineered super pigs. Indeed, it contains scenes that might be considered risky in conventional Hollywood blockbuster movies. Thus, in various ways, Bong Joon-ho and his film Okja have become an apt symbol for the future of film and a major shift in film distribution

By combining theoretical and practical modes of analysis, this panel attempts to examine the shifting relationship between film and digital distribution as well as the creative possibility Neflix offers to filmmakers. Such an exploration can help us map the ever changing media environments and how changing digital media formats impact what kind of film can be produced and distributed globally. This panel would like to discuss the complex issues surrounding this new digital environment. 

Possible topics include (but not limited to):  
•	Conflict between theaters and online streaming and its impact on filmmaking 
•	Digital distribution and authorship 
•	Analysis of Okja and/or other Neflix original movies 
•	Aesthetics of Neflix Original movies 
•	Future impact of worldwide release on Neflix streaming service  

For this panel, we invite papers that explore the future shaping of film distribution and its impact on film aesthetics and creative freedom. Please send paper proposals of 250-300 words and a short bio of 50-100 words to Hyangjin Lee ([log in to unmask])  or Nam Lee ([log in to unmask]) by Friday, August 11, 2017. 

Submitters will be notified a decision by Monday, August 21, 2017. 

best, 
Nam Lee ([log in to unmask]) 

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