Admission requirements
This course is available for students of the Honours College Humanities Lab.
Students in the first year of their bachelor’s programme who achieve good academic results and are very motivated, may apply for a place in Humanities Lab.
Description
What is ‘Francophone’ cinema as opposed to ‘French’, transnational or world cinema? How does ‘Francophone’ cinema relate to the global and transnational cultural productions of the 21st century? Which role does the ‘Festival de Cannes’ play in the ‘Francophone’ cinema and in the international film industry? How do the various francophone contexts influence both film production and reception? What are the consequences of considering cinema from the Francophone peripheries, beyond the traditional French perspective? Can the debates around ‘Francophone’ cinema inform our contemporary considerations and concerns about global power and its articulations?
These questions are at the core of this course, in which we address ‘Francophone’ cinema from various angles: history of French & Francophone cinema, genres, techniques and narratology, linguistics (languages spoken in ‘Francophone’ films, not necessarily solely French), political and cultural contexts of production and reception. To analyse the articulations of ‘Francophone’ movies (linked to the ‘francophone’ world via language, culture, production or reception), we will examine a corpus from all over the world e.g.: France, Belgium, Québec, sub-Saharan Africa (Mali, Senegal, Cameroun), the Maghreb (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia), the Middle-East (Iran), Asia (Cambodia).
At the end of each session of the course, we will watch the film to be discussed in the next one. The last session will take the form of our own Festival: ‘Le vendredi de la critique’ – inspired by Cannes’ ‘La semaine de la critique’ – during which small groups of participants present and criticize a film of their own choice (in accordance with the lecturer). As final outcome, the students will write an individual critique on a chosen movie.
Course objectives
Upon successful completion of this course, students will:
- have a thorough knowledge of the
historical developments of French cinema
French / Francophone film corpus
debates around ‘Francophone’ cinema
challenges and opportunities of decentring ‘French’ cinema
articulations implied by ‘Francophone’ cinema
- be able to
recall basic information on canonical movies, figures, movements, dates and techniques of the ‘Francophone’ cinema
interpret the movies studied during the course within the historical / cultural / political context (in particular with the challenges of the power inequalities in the French speaking world)
apply basic cultural and cinematographic concepts, theories and techniques to analyse contemporary francophone cinema
discuss the concepts of the course with sound argumentation
find relevant information on the topics of the course
present their findings, orally and in writing
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Humanities Lab courses are usually scheduled on Friday afternoon from 13.30 to 17h.
Mode of instruction
Seminars (weekly lecture and discussion) & screening of movies
Last session: course Festival : ‘Le vendredi de la critique’
Assessment method
Assessment
Paper (individual, approx. 2000 words: critique of a movie): 40%
Oral examination: (1) in small groups during the course: 20% & (2) in small groups at the end of the course (20%)
Active participation & individual contribution to the discussions: 20%.
Weighing
- As shown above.
The final mark for the course is established by determining the weighted average. To pass the course, the weighted average of the partial grades must be 5.5 or higher.
Attendance
Attendance is compulsory for all meetings (lectures, seminars, excursions, etc.). If you are unable to attend, notify the lecturer (listed in the information bar on the right) in advance. Being absent may result in lower grades or exclusion from the course.
Resit
There is an opportunity to resit the individual paper only.
Inspection and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Reading list
References:
Austin, Guy, Contemporary Fench Cinema, Manchester, Mancherster University Press, 2008.
Diop, Samba, African Francophone Cinema, New Orleans, University of the South, 2004.
Forsdick, Charles & Launchbury, Claire (dir.), Transnational French Studies, Liverpool, Liverpool University Press, 2023.
French Historical Studies, Film and History: Reimagining the Francophone Archive, vol. 46, issue 2 (May 2023).
Gott, Michael & Schilt, Thibaut, Cinéma-monde. Decentered Perspectives on Global Filmmaking in French, Edinburgh, Edinbugh UP, 2019.
King, Gemma, Decentering France. Multilingualism and power in Contemporary French Cinema, Manchester, Manchester UP, 2017.
Shohat, Ella & Stam, Robert, Untihinking Eurocentrism: Multiculturalism and the Media, London, Routledge, 1994.
Additional texts will be available via Brightspace at the beginning of the course.
Filmography:
Chabrol, Claude, Le Boucher/ The Butcher, 1969
Panh, Rithy, L’Image manquante/ The Missing picture, 2013
Sissako, Abderrahmane, Timbuktu, 2014
Van Dormael, Jaco, Toto le héros/ Toto the Hero, 1991
Bouchareb, Rachid, Indigènes/ Days of Glory, 2006
Registration
Students participating in this module will be enrolled in MyStudymap by the Education Administration Office of Humanities Lab. Students can register for the Humanities Lab modules about two to three weeks before the start of the module through an online form. More information and the link to the form will be provided by Umail.
Registration À la carte education, Contract teaching and Exchange
Not applicable
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Huizinga
Remarks
This course is part of the Humanities Lab programme, visit the [website](Humanities Lab - Leiden University (universiteitleiden.nl)) for more information.
Visit the Honours Academy website for more information about the Honours College.