Thesis--PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio University, March, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

This study proposes that aspects primary to film festival operation be identified and logically linked through established system-based theories. Researchers are then able to establish a foundational comprehension of film festivals and overcome areas that are currently nebulous and detrimental to the field of study.

Historically the focus of journalistic reports, film festivals have recently started to attract the attention of academics, applying concepts from crossdisciplinary fields such as cultural studies and ethnography. As a result, film festivals are now gradually being institutionalised as a field of study within the wider discipline of Film Studies. This thesis adds to this growing body of literature by exploring film festivals as sites of cinematic, cultural, social, political and economic exchange, as well as the multiple ways in which these events produce cultural value. This thesis draws on three detailed case studies: the Buenos Aires Festival de Cine Independiente, known as BAFICI, in Argentina; the BFI London Film Festival in the UK; and the San Sebastián International Film Festival in Spain. Issues of national identity, history and memory inform and become crystallised in each festival. They acquire a particular resonance in the tensions between national and regional allegiances in San Sebastián, as well as the pressures between cinema as culture and entertainment in the case of London. The focus on BAFICI allows for a development of the argument beyond critics and academics’ habitual focus on Western film festivals. Transnational events by nature, all three festivals relate in complex ways to their own national cinemas and localities, as well as to other festivals within the international circuit. My personal experience as film critic and reporter at festivals is underpinned by academic research, giving this project a dual perspective. With findings based on extensive interviews (primary research) with the teams responsible for programming the three festivals, this thesis aims to bring into the public domain the views of those who have shaped these festivals, creating a new body of material that can be drawn on by future scholars working in this area.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1969. / Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Canberra, 2004. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on July 20, 2005). Includes bibliographical references (p. [242]-248).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1969. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

published_or_final_version / Comparative Literature / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Thesis (M.A.)--Carleton University, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 114-116). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

This dissertation examines how the Global Peace Film Festival of Orlando, Florida, facilitates the construction of cosmopolitan identities within the context of humanitarianism and activism. An expansion of the notion of "peace"to include multiple levels of meaning is crucial to the identity of the festival, as it allows the screening of an array of films that appeal to the broad range of spectators and community organizations that interact with the event. Within the context of the Global Peace Film Festival, various discourses surrounding peace participate in the process of cognitively mapping the world and situating the self within it as a cosmopolitan citizen. The centrality of the self is key to understanding how audiences create solidarity with the other, and how they might choose to respond to appeals for humanitarian aid. The contemporary humanitarian imaginary builds solidarity between the viewer and the other-in-need in a manner that is rooted in self-reflection, creating an ironic spectator of vulnerable others and setting the stage for solutions to humanitarian problems that fit into personal lifestyle choices. This study examines the complexity inherent to the articulation between producers, audiences and films, and how meaning is negotiated on a local level. Witnessing and testimonial are key practices for engaging spectators, and the testimonial encounter has a transformative power for audiences that may be channeled into various responses to calls for action. An emerging practice is significant as well, a new situatedness of the documentary filmmaker as a central figure in the promotion of both films and humanitarian causes. This practice provides a role for the filmmaker as both entrepreneur and activist, easing the tension between the goals of humanitarianism and capitalistic concerns, while positioning the film as a tool rather than an aesthetic object and echoing the preeminence of self in our contemporary society. The Global Peace Film festival takes an innovative approach to promoting change, moving from a traditional exhibition model to an "engagement" model that focuses on the involvement of the local community. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection