Film Circuits: Cinema, Cultural Policy and the Production of Multiculturalism in France

My current research project examines the role of film culture—encompassing at once a body of cultural policy, business practices, film financing, co-production, associations, criticism, exhibition, and distribution —in the negotiation of postcolonial identities in France. The film-work of French-Maghrebi directors speaks to the centrality of audiovisual production in the promotion of new forms of cultural and economic cooperation, as well as to the debate taking shape in Europe regarding the boundaries of French, European, and Mediterranean identities. In this study, Marseille constitutes an important case study, opening a window onto the transnational, national, and local film trade (at once cultural, political, and economic) between France and the Maghreb. For the period of residency, I hope to complete the last phase of the research for this project during Marseille 2013—European Capital of Culture, which will offer the perfect opportunity to see the extent to which the dialogue between French-Maghrebi, filmmakers, North African filmmakers, and their audiences contributes to a vision of Mediterranean culture that underscores the cultural and historical connections between France, Europe, and the Maghreb.