The Chinese Film Forum UK

近年来，中国影院在国际电影市场（包括非华语地区）获得了很高的知名度。关于普通中国电影的英语写作很少涉及中国文化本身的语言和文化差异，例如，对方言的压制，对普通话的支持，即使在中国领土上放映的电影的配音和字幕的文化政治，少数民族文化的代表以及表面上的“中国”方言群体和社区之间的文化政治。此外，国家和文化政策决定了什么被生产和分发需要考虑。这包括对物质历史的探索，比如哪些材料在历史中丢失了（无论是战争、忽视还是其他突发事件），以及这如何影响我们对今天被认定为“中国电影”的作品的理解。在大中华地区之外，关于海外华人电影的报道就更少了，无论是在东南亚还是在欧洲和美国。这些电影对被理解为“中国电影”的更大的作品有贡献吗？如果不是，他们的中国式本质是什么？或者，如果是这样的话，这种中国性在多大程度上是与被称为“中国”的地缘政治实体分离的？关于西方国家的中国影院还有很多工作要做：例如，新的跨国中国影院对亚裔美国导演有什么影响？英国华人在英国电影文化中的表现是什么？此外，跨国中国性通常被认为是中国电影进入西方市场的跨越，但实际上，由于国内市场较小，中文电影从一开始就把目光投向了国外。例如，香港电影公司一直把东南亚和唐人街西部市场作为其发行网络的一部分。事实上，在20世纪60年代和70年代的鼎盛时期，邵氏兄弟的制作工作室在马来西亚和新加坡都有制作部门，不仅制作中文电影，还制作马来语电影。在更广阔的国际舞台上，许多中国电影在国际电影节文化的背景下被看到，包括那些可能被视为“商业”而不是“艺术”的电影。需要对这些电影节的选择政治进行更多的研究，以及电影节本身的政治经济如何决定哪些作品可以在国际上看到，哪些没有。谁来定义“中国”电影的构成？是中国人自己（不管他们是怎么定义的）？生产商吗?观众吗?国家吗?节日陪审团?还是上述所有因素的复杂相互作用？作为一个跨机构的机构，该网络在探索这些问题方面处于有利地位，因为它能够利用学术和公共部门合作伙伴的优势，并与行业建立联系，这将对项目有价值。因此，该网络认为其公众参与活动与正在进行的学术研究同样重要。

In recent years, Chinese cinemas have received high visibility in international film markets, including non-Chinese-speaking territories. While there have been research conducted into the individual cinemas variously identified as 'Chinese', such as the cinemas from the People's Republic, Taiwan and Hong Kong, there has been relatively little systematic research into the finer nuances that constitute, or indeed, problematise, this notion of a Chinese identity.English-language writings on a generic Chinese cinema rarely address the linguistic and cultural differences within Chinese cultures itself, for example, the suppression of vernacular dialects in favour of Mandarin, the cultural politics of dubbing and subtitling even for films shown in Chinese territories, the representation of minority cultures and the cultural politics between ostensibly 'Chinese' dialect groups and communities. In addition, the state and cultural policies that determine what gets produced and distributed need to be considered. These include the exploration of material histories, such as what material has been lost to history (whether to war, neglect, and other exigences), and how that shapes our understanding of the body of work identified as 'Chinese cinema' today.Moving beyond the Greater China region, even less has been said on the cinema/s of the Chinese diaspora, whether that in South-east Asia or Europe and America. Do these films contribute to the larger body of work understood as 'Chinese cinema'? If not, what is the nature of their Chinese-ness; or, if so, how much of that Chinese-ness is dissociated from the geo-political entity called 'China'? Much work remains to be done on Chinese cinemas in Western territories: What is the impact of the new transnational Chinese cinemas on Asian-American directors, for instance? And where are British Chinese represented in British film cultures? In addition, transnational Chinese-ness is often taken to be the crossing of Chinese cinema into Western markets, but in reality because of small home markets, Chinese language cinemas have looked beyond its own shores from the beginning. Hong Kong cinema, for example, has always looked towards South-east Asian and Western Chinatown markets as part of its distribution network. Indeed the Shaw Brothers production studios in its hey-day during the 1960s and 70s had production units in Malaysia and Singapore, producing not just Chinese-language features, but also Malay-language ones.In the wider international arena, many Chinese films are seen today within the context of an international film festival culture, including that which may be perceived as 'commercial' rather than 'arthouse'. More research needs to be conducted on the politics of selection at these festivals, and how the political economy of the festivals themselves can determine what gets seen internationally and what does not. Who defines what constitutes 'Chinese' cinema? Is it the Chinese themselves (however they are defined)? The producers? The audience? The state? Festival juries? Or a complex interaction of all of the above?As a cross-institutional body, the network is well-placed to undertake the exploration of these issues as it is able to draw on the strengths of both academic and public sector partners with links to industry that will be of value to the project. As such the network views its public engagement activities as equally crucial as the academic research being undertaken.