Chicano cinema is a genre of film that was born out of the Chicano Movement in the late 60’s, however not much has been written about the exhibition of Chicano film. The Chicano Film Festival began in 1976 in San Antonio, Texas to showcase Chicano filmmakers and their work. The Festival, later renamed, the CineFestival is the longest running Latino film festival in the U.S. and for my report I question how the Festival shared the work of Chicanos and promoted a Chicano discursive space. To answer these questions I turned to the Festival film programs and local periodicals. After my research, I found that the CineFestival served a purpose for Chicano cinema because it not only screened Chicano films, but it also promoted a Chicano discourse and therefore a very unique discursive space for Chicano media. However, I found that the Festival’s direction and motivations change year after year. In turn these changes, influence the Festival’s promotion or lack of promotion and screening of Chicano film. The CineFestival, even though promotes itself as a “Latino” film festival, has an obligation to sustain what it cultivated in 1976; Chicano cinema. This genre of film and its history runs the risk of being forgotten. I ask, if our own film community doesn’t screen or talk about Chicano film, then who will? It is in this report that I further explore these questions and CineFestival’s role in Chicano cinema. / text

xvii, 397 p. : ill., maps. / Thousands of films are produced every year in the United States, and only a fraction of these is made by mainstream Hollywood film studios. Independent filmmakers working in regional locations produce the majority of these films, retaining financial, creative and distribution control and working with locally-based cast and crew members. This film activity must be acknowledged in order to fully understand the American film industry. This study examines regional independent filmmaking through case studies of two film communities: Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington. Using political economy of communication as the primary theoretical foundation, this study focuses on the infrastructure (systems, policies, resources and practices) that supports and/or limits the production and distribution of independent films. The research utilizes extensive document analysis of historical materials and contemporary documents produced by organizations and individuals, as well as a survey of 60 film professionals and interviews with over 40 film professionals. A central challenge to independent filmmaking is the term "independent," which has been contested by film professionals and scholars; therefore, this study analyzes and offers a new definition of "independent filmmaking." The history of filmmaking activity in Portland and Seattle is presented, as well as an extensive discussion of the contemporary landscape of regional independent filmmaking in these two communities. The study finds that there are a multitude of contradictions pertaining to financing, distribution, labor and myths of independent filmmaking. These contradictions present a range of opportunities and challenges that often simultaneously conflict with each other. The filmmaking communities in Portland and Seattle have notable networks of support, including professional and educational organizations, film festivals, government initiatives and a few locally-operated distributors. However, filmmakers in both cities also share challenges in financing, distribution and labor. The study argues that regional independent filmmaking has made a dynamic and influential contribution to the American film industry and cultural production but has been under-explored in academic scholarship. The research also points to the need to examine and understand the contradictions of independent filmmaking to improve the circumstances and infrastructure that support regional independent filmmaking. / Committee in charge: Dr. Janet Wasko, Chairperson; Dr. Gabriela Martinez, Member; Dr. H. Leslie Steeves, Member; Dr. Michael Aronson, Outside Member

The aim of this master thesis is to describe and evaluate the role of incoming foreign productions entering the Czech film industry after 1989. The foreign film productions tend to affect the Czech film culture in a broader context. Specifically, changes occured in governmental support of both Czech and foreign production. The film industry is not kept away from the intensifying conditions on world markets. In the recent years, this factor is leading to a greater competition in terms of attracting foreign productions to domestic locations by the system of fiscal incentives. Having these in mind, this thesis outlines until which range are the foreign productions beneficial for the state, as well as it proposes the possible manner of the Czech republic promotion abroad.