Call for Papers       CineAction #85
“Slow Film” & “Crowd Pleasers”

The two themes selected for this issue of CineAction work off each  
other as two halves of the same coin.  The first refers to a type of  
art film that while seemingly minimalist, in fact requires intense  
audience concentration and effort to produce meaning; the other, films  
that have given audiences what they expect in entertainment but may  
have more to offer when closely observed and analyzed.

“Slow Film”
By this neologism, I mean to draw an analogy between the recent  
phenomenon in cooking (and eating) habits termed the ‘Slow Food’  
Movement wherein time functions as an arbiter and guarantor of good  
taste, with those films that work off similar emphases of duration,  
films that reject the flashier aspects of Hollywood filmmaking…short  
takes, rapid editing, continuously moving camera and action, etc.…  
substituting instead a much slower approach to crafting a film.  
However, this theme is not limited to current filmmakers like  
Argentina’s Lisandro Alonso, Canada’s Denis Coté, or the US’s Kelly  
Lynch. There is a rich history of ‘slow film’ amongst European and  
Asian filmmakers, too.

  “Crowd Pleasers”
As with the Cahiers du Cinema crew who looked at American films and  
saw art, not just cheap entertainment, the intent of this theme is to  
look closely at the more  popular products of recent Hollywood, films   
that may have been dismissed or overlooked by serious critics as  
objects worthy of attention. The question to be asked is, ‘Is there  
anything there worth talking about?’

Papers should be submitted in hard copy only, mailed directly to Susan  
Morrison, the editor of this issue. Once accepted for publication, the  
paper will then be emailed as a file attachment.
The deadline for submission is  May 15, 2010.  It would be appreciated  
if a brief proposal be submitted as early as possible as an indication  
of intention to submit.
A style guide is available on our website  www.cineaction.ca
Please address all queries and submissions to the issue’s editor:

  Susan Morrison
314 Spadina Road
Toronto ON
Canada M5R 2V6
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