Amidst the ascendancy of conservative forces during the Bolsonarismo era in Brazil, where hate took centre stage in popular engagement, violence surged to prominence across various cultural and entertainment industries, demanding our attention. In this presentation, I embark on both a theoretical and aesthetic journey to examine how two major streaming platforms, Globo Play and Netflix, have invested in audiovisual productions that, in their own unique way, offer counter-narratives. While not radical or revolutionary, these narratives inject a critical sensibility, challenging the normalisation of a violent, racist, and misogynistic socio-cultural imagination.

To illustrate and substantiate my analysis, I turn to two compelling case studies: "Mancha" (2023) and "Sismicas" (2023), both authored by three talented Black women. These works fearlessly explore the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality, providing a deeper understanding of the subtle facets of violence. The overarching question guiding this analysis is: How do these narratives shed light on the complex entanglement that blends colonial legacies, social inequalities, and the disdain for otherness, particularly as individuals seek civil and social rights?

 

Alexandre Diallo, “TV Series in the Era of Globalized Threat: Killing Eve in the Eye of Modern Feminist Discourse”

“TV Series in the Era of Globalized Threat: Killing Eve in the Eye of Modern Feminist Discourse” proposes a reflection on a transnational woman-centered TV series, starring three femmes puissantes (N’Diaye, 2013), trying to show how the complex narratives of its female leading characters interrogate the possibility of a feminist “we.” While many publications have praised the TV series notably for the place it allows to women, and the novelty of the show, the analysis I conducted aimed at showing how this series visually interrogates what unite and can dissolve women.

Zhang Hua, Tony Rayns and Chinese Films’ Internationalisation

As a film critic, curator and activist based in London, Tony Rayns has played a significant role in the process of East Asian (including Chinese) films being internationally accepted over the past 40 years. His function is unquestionably irreplaceable. In reviewing, programming, and adding subtitling as well as his personal commentaries on DVD and Bule ray disks, Tony Rayns has successfully introduced Chinese films to a wider appreciative British audience and the English-speaking world on a whole. Prior to Tony Rayns's involvement, Chinese films were rarely screened especially on an international level. His work has influenced the internationalised Chinese films of younger generation in the long term, which are considerable different to mainstream films in China.

Mika Ko, Suffragettes and Early British Cinema

This presentation unveils preliminary findings from my ongoing research on the intriguing interplay between suffragettes and the early British cinema. While the quest for women's suffrage commenced in the United Kingdom during the 19th century, it gained renewed impetus around the turn of the 20th century. This resurgence coincided with the advent of cinema and the emergence of film industry and culture. Naturally then, suffrage campaigns and activists, particularly those of militant ones, known as 'suffragettes,' became a popular subject in both newsreels and fiction (predominantly, comedy) films. Focusing primarily on fiction films, this presentation begins by offering a brief overview of suffragette-themed films released in Britain between 1900 and 1918, shedding light on prevailing representations of suffragettes. The focus then shifts to the 1911 film entitled True Womanhood, a unique project initiated by suffragettes themselves. This section scrutinizes suffragettes’ endeavors not only to challenge their prevalent caricatured negative stereotypes but also to redefine the notion of ‘true womanhood’ in the filmic text. The presentation then probes into suffragettes’ concerted effort to promote and integrate the film as a vital component of their activism. It will be argued that True Womanhood may be seen as a pioneering attempt in which women’s movement harnessed the potential of film for a political end, thus, marking a pivotal moment in the convergence of cinema and feminist activism.