Culture Versus Commerce New Strategies for The
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Culture versus Commerce New Strategies for the Internationalization of Catalan Cinema Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy At the University of Northampton 2016 Maurici Jiménez © Maurici Jiménez, February 2016. This thesis is copyright material and no quotation from it may be published without proper acknowledgement. Abstract This thesis analyses the potential of Catalan cinema to become a national cinema as the current political climate, with a significant part of the population claiming a Catalan state, indicates the relevance of this examination. Catalan cinema is currently considered a regional cinema, however Catalonia has been defined as a nation with its own language and culture, and therefore Catalan cinema may come to reflect this reality. This work also considers the problems and possibilities for Catalan cinema to attain international impact. This thesis analyzes the distinctions between regional, national and international cinemas in the context of world cinemas and of the relationship between cultural identity and the economic demands of the industry. Some regional cinemas can be seen as national because of the cultural and historic social context in which they develop and this gives them the scope to become international in their own right. The thesis analyzes the policies and international agreements developed to protect the domestic industry against the economic imperatives of a global market, particularly in relation to the predominance of Hollywood films in the international film market and the measures — and theoretical approaches upon which they are based — that nation-states and the European Union undertake to protect their film production and to ensure that it reaches their own audiences, but also is distributed internationally. Specifically, this work explores co-productions and film festivals as mechanisms of internationalization for domestic production. In order to provide a new framework that balances cultural identity and economic performance for the Catalan film industry, this thesis examines the national models followed by the Spanish, British and French film industries, which have addressed the dual nature of cinema — cultural and commercial — in different ways. It provides case studies of French and British cinemas as different types of national cinema — both present in Catalan cinema — and analyzes Spanish cinema as the film industry where the Catalan cinema currently operates. 2 The thesis identifies the problems and opportunities — both cultural and economic — that Catalan cinema must face in order to become a national cinema and to develop an independent and successful film industry, as well as the importance of achieving an international level to accomplish this objective. Finally it proposes a number of recommendations for the internationalization of Catalan cinema and for the elaboration of policies to accomplish this objective. Key words: cinema, national cinema, Catalonia, film industry, cultural value. 3 Acknowledgements I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisors Professor Janet Wilson, Dr. Lorna Jowett and Dr. Stephen Keane for the useful comments, remarks and engagement through the learning process of this thesis and also for encouraging my research and for allowing me to grow as a research scientist. Your advice on both research as well as on my career have been priceless. Furthermore, I would like to thank Paul Middleton, Miquel Bisbe, Francesc Font, Jordi Marquez and Carlos Ruiz for their support on the way. Also, I like to thank the participants in my research, who have willingly shared their precious time during the process of meetings and interviews. I would also like to thank all of my friends who supported me in writing, and incited me to strive towards my goal. I would like to thank my loved ones, who have supported me throughout the entire process, my father, my mother, my aunt and grandmother, both by keeping me harmonious and helping me putting pieces together. At the end I would like express appreciation to my beloved wife Neus who spent sleepless nights with me and was always my support in the moments when there was no one to answer my queries. I will be grateful forever for your love. And finally to my little one, you are my every day inspiration. 4 Table of contents Introduction: Cinema as a commodity, and source of cultural value and identity ........................................................................................................ 1. Research framework ............................................................................... 1.1. Aim and Objectives .......................................................................... 1.2. Methodology .................................................................................... 2. Cinema as a commodity, and source of cultural value and identity ......... 3. The rise of cinema and the debate about Hollywood and national cinemas ................................................................................................... 4. Theorizing ‘regional’ and ‘national’ cinemas ............................................ 5. Film policy in the European Union .......................................................... Chapter 1. Overview of international, national and regional film industries ..................................................................................................................... 1.1. The film industry in the global era .......................................................... 1.2. Hollywood film industry: influence and scope ........................................ 13. European cinema and the cinema of nation-states ................................ 1.3.1. Film festivals ............................................................................ I.3.2. Co-productions.......................................................................... 1.4. Cinemas of nations without state ........................................................... Chapter 2. Commercial contexts: British and French film industries ... 2.1. The United Kingdom and French film industries: definition and quantification, cultural identity and commercial value ................... 2.1.1. British Cinema.......................................................................... 2.1.2. French Cinema ....................................................................... 2.2. Case studies: The King’s Speech and A Prophet .................................. 2.2.1. The King’s Speech ................................................................... 2.2.2. A Prophet ................................................................................. 2.3. Regional, national and International values of cinema .......................... 5 Chapter 3. Spanish cinema ........................................................................ 3.1. Spanish cinema’s cultural identity and commercial value: definitions and quantification ................................................................ 3.1.1. Spanish cinema laws and support policies .............................. 3. 2. Spanish cinema at the regional, national and international levels .................................................................................................. 3. 2. 1. The internationalisation of Spanish films ................................ 3. 2. 2. Co-productions ....................................................................... 3. 2. 3. Spanish and Latin-America cinemas ...................................... 3. 2. 4. Film festivals participation and organisation .......................... 3. 2. 5. The future of Spanish cinema ................................................ 3. 3. Case studies: Pan’s Labyrinth and Cell 211 ......................................... 3. 3. 1. Pan’s Labyrinth ...................................................................... 3. 3. 2. Cell 211 .................................................................................. 3. 3. 3. ‘Spanishness’ in Spanish cinema........................................... Chapter 4. Catalan cinema ......................................................................... 4.1. Catalonian cinema, definition and quantification: cultural identity and commercial value ................................................................................ 4.1.1. Brief history of Catalan cinema ................................................ 4.1.2. Identity, cultural value and economic impact of Catalan cinema ................................................................... 4.1.3. Catalan film law ....................................................................... 4.2. Catalan cinema at the regional, national and international levels .......... 4.2.1. Catalan cinema at festivals ...................................................... 4.2.2. Catalonia: a film set ................................................................. 4.2.3. Future of Catalan cinema ......................................................... 4.3. Case studies: Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Black Bread ...................... 4.3.1. Vicky Cristina Barcelona .......................................................... 4.3.2. Black Bread ............................................................................. 4. 4. Conclusion ............................................................................................ Chapter 5. Recommendations for the nationalization and internationalization of Catalan cinema ..................................................... 6 5. 1. Problems and