Crossing borders: investigating the international appeal of European films
Crossing borders: investigating the international appeal of European films
This chapter investigates the international appeal of European films. I argue that most European films are unpopular outside their country-of-origin because they are low-budget productions with culturally-specific or controversial stories than only appeal to niche audiences. Nevertheless, drawing on industry data, focus group interviews and textual analysis, I demonstrate that some European films do successfully travel within Europe because they possess certain characteristics. These include major film awards, the involvement of international stars and/or a critically-acclaimed ‘auteur’ director, and pre-sold material (e.g. based on a best-selling book). I also uses the case-study of the French comedy drama Untouchable (2011) to show that even European films without these characteristics can still sometimes appeal to international audiences if they are shrewdly marketed and tap into wider social concerns.
187-205
Jones, Huw D.
8a9d536b-2b68-41be-a1a6-da9aff14ec63
1 June 2020
Jones, Huw D.
8a9d536b-2b68-41be-a1a6-da9aff14ec63
Jones, Huw D.
(2020)
Crossing borders: investigating the international appeal of European films.
In,
Lewis, Ingrid and Canning, Laura
(eds.)
European Cinema in the Twenty-First Century: Discourses, Directions and Genres.
London.
Palgrave Macmillan, .
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Abstract
This chapter investigates the international appeal of European films. I argue that most European films are unpopular outside their country-of-origin because they are low-budget productions with culturally-specific or controversial stories than only appeal to niche audiences. Nevertheless, drawing on industry data, focus group interviews and textual analysis, I demonstrate that some European films do successfully travel within Europe because they possess certain characteristics. These include major film awards, the involvement of international stars and/or a critically-acclaimed ‘auteur’ director, and pre-sold material (e.g. based on a best-selling book). I also uses the case-study of the French comedy drama Untouchable (2011) to show that even European films without these characteristics can still sometimes appeal to international audiences if they are shrewdly marketed and tap into wider social concerns.
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Published date: 1 June 2020
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Local EPrints ID: 441305
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/441305
PURE UUID: e642b198-3d18-4b0d-89da-960ec02be40b
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Date deposited: 09 Jun 2020 16:30
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 05:37
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Contributors
Editor:
Ingrid Lewis
Editor:
Laura Canning
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