Cinema of the Other Europe

by Dina Iordanova

Cinema of the Other The Industry and Artistry of East Central European Film is the first major study of the cinematic traditions of Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia from 1945 to the present day. It explores the major schools of film-making and the main stages of development across the region during the period of state socialism up until the end of the Cold War as well as more recent transformations post-1989. The book examines how European cinema is still mostly synonymous with West European film and how the cinema of Eastern Europe is still largely excluded and under-explored. Including material on directors such as István Szabó ( Mephisto ), Krzysztof Kieslowski ( Dekalog, Three Colors Trilogy ) and Jan Sverák ( Kolya ), this study of the 'other' European cinema thus constitutes a timely appraisal of film history and film studies debates.

Genres: Film

208 pages, Paperback

First published July 15, 2003

About the author

Dina Iordanova is Professor of Film Studies, University of St Andrews,and author of Cinema of Flames: Balkan Film, Culture and the Media. She is a global traveller.

Her current book, a labour of love, was conceived during one of her many visits to Paris, where she has been returning all over again for more than two decades. Although she has not yet managed to relocate herself physically, she is moving in her heart and soul's direction, with short spells for time out in other favourite places, like Istanbul and Hong Kong. Originally from a cinéphile family, she first studied Philosophy before running away from theory to indulge her passion for Cinema. Dina is the author, co-author and editor of many works, including: BFI Companion to Russian and Eastern European Cinema (1999), Cinema of Flames (2001), Emir Kusturica (2002), Cinema of the Other Europe (2003), Cinema of the Balkans (2006), The Film Festival Circuit (2009), Cinema at the Periphery (2010), Moving People, Moving Images (2010), Film Festivals and Imagined Communities (2010), Film Festivals and East Asia (2011), Film Festivals and Activism (2012), Digital Disruption (2012), Film Festival Reader (2013), Film Festivals and the Middle East (2014) and of many articles and chapters. She is Professor of Film Studies, and Director of the Institute for Global Cinema and Creative Cultures at the ancient University of St Andrews in Scotland, where she established the Film Studies programme in 2004.