Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Contemporary Latin American Cinema: Breaking into the Global Market

Product Description This engaging book explores some of the most significant films to emerge from Latin America since 2000, an extraordinary period of international recognition for the region's cinema. Each chapter assesses an individual film, with some contributors considering the reasons for the unprecedented commercial and critical successes of movies such as City of God, The Motorcycle Diaries, Y tu mamá también, and Nine Queens, while others examine why equally important films failed to break out on the international circuit. Written by leading specialists, the chapters not only offer textual analysis, but also trace the films' social context and production conditions, as well as critical national and transnational issues. Their well-rounded analyses provide a rich picture of the state of contemporary filmmaking in a range of Latin American countries. Nuanced and thought-provoking, the readings in this book will provide invaluable interpretations for students and scholars of Latin American film. Contributions by: Sarah Barrow, Nuala Finnegan, David William Foster, Miraim Haddu, Geoffrey Kantaris, Deborah Shaw, Lisa Shaw, Rob Stone, Else R. P. Vieira, and Claire Williams. Review Recommended.-- "Choice" The great merit of this book is to acknowledge current Latin American cinema's international success as an aesthetic achievement, as well as a commercial one. Through in-depth case studies, it contributes a fascinating new chapter to world cinema history.--Lúcia Nagib, University of Reading Again and again, these essays strip away the masks to reveal Latin American cinema as it really is: specific and local, national and historical, not a homogeneous product lately discovered by the United States and Europe as a marketable commodity. A valuable compendium for anyone who wants to know what's up with cinema in Latin America today.--B. Ruby Rich, University of California, Santa Cruz; author of Chick Flicks: Theories and Memories of the Feminist Film Movement With an eye to the national and international contexts of production and reception of contemporary Latin American cinema, essays in this exciting collection focus on international blockbusters as well as introduce readers to lesser known films. A welcome and valuable addition to the growing scholarship on the cinemas of the region.--Andrea Noble, Durham University About the Author Deborah Shaw is senior lecturer in film studies at Portsmouth University.