Film festivals in Argentina: an approach to Centre-Periphery dynamics in South American film cultures

• Applicant: Dr. Pablo Salas Tonello, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Theatre and Media Studies
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 531611678

Film festivals constitute major events for the study of “film cultures” (Harbord 2002) insofar they stand out as relevant places for cultural legitimization, professional socialization and the attraction of new audiences. Although research on film festivals has considerably expanded in Europe, it has had rather limited development in Latin America. The aim of this project is to analyze how film festivals transform and develop film cultures in central and peripheral cities of Argentina. In order to meet this objective, I will examine comparatively three leading festivals based on four dimensions: participating films, professionals who attend the event, internal organization and “politics of place” (Loist 2015). These axes will provide relevant data to explain how film festivals connect with the international circuit, the transformations they intend to perform in local and regional film cultures, as well as the possibilities they boast to influence on professional trajectories. The festivals selected are the “Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente” (BAFICI), the “Festival Internacional de Cine de Mar del Plata” and the more recent “Festival Internacional de Cine de las Alturas” (FICA). These festivals integrate a relevant sample since they are located in cities of different scales –the country’s capital city, a seaside resort, an intermediate city in the Northwest of the country– and each festival has achieved strong ties within the international circuit. The overall goal of the present research is to analyze how film festivals play a significant role for South American film cultures, a rather unexplored issue in cultural and media studies. The Argentine case is especially interesting due to the relevance its film festivals achieved in the last two decades as well as the important position its film production has historically acclaimed. Besides, this study provides an exciting opportunity to advance on a relatively neglected agenda in cultural and media studies: center-periphery dynamics within peripheral countries, as well as complex relations between cities in cultural fields –competition, cooperation, regional leadership, international prevalence–. The study will use a qualitative approach based on three methods: archive research, in-depth interviews and ethnographic observation. The whole research is planned within a two-year period and will be fully supervised by Prof. Dr. Skadi Loist (Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF), who is co-founder of the Film Festival Research Network and a leading expert in the field. Finally, I have read and accept the required formal obligations stated by the Walter Benjamin Program.

• DFG Programme: WBP Position