[Discussion] CFP: Narrative Cinema as Autobiographical Act (8/15/05; journal issue)

[Sule Tarakcioglu]

Call for Papers. =B3Narrative Cinema as Autobiographical Act=B2

The Winter 2006 issue of _Biography: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly_
(28.1) will be a Special Issue on "Narrative Cinema as Autobiographical
Act." Guest Editor Linda Haverty Rugg invites essays examining narrative
(non-documentary) cinema as autobiography. Theorist Philippe Lejeune
argued against the possibility of narrative films as autobiography,
while Elizabeth Bruss speculated that viewing narrative films as
autobiographies would lead to a redefinition not only of autobiography
as a genre, but selfhood as a construct. In a kind of manifesto for
cinematic auteurism, the young Fran=E7ois Truffaut wrote in 1959: "The
film of tomorrow appears to me as even more personal than an individual
and autobiographical novel, like a confession, or a diary. The
filmmakers will express themselves in the first person and will relate
what has happened to them. . . . The film of tomorrow will resemble the
person who made it." What does it mean for a film to be made in the
first person? How can a film "resemble the person who made it"? How can
a collaborative work of art (like most narrative films) be recognized as
the autobiographical work of an individual? What is the relationship
between the director and his or her actors in such a scenario?
Contributors could consider these questions and others related to the
construction of selfhood through the cinematic medium, the relation of
photography in film to memory and history, the use of documentary clips
in "fictional" films, the presence of the director in "fictional" films,
the representation of memory and childhood in films, and more. Essays on
fictional filmmakers ranging from well-known cinematic auteurs (Truffaut
himself, Malle, Bergman, Fellini, Tarkovsky, Fassbinder, Allen, etc.) to
experimental filmmakers are welcome.

Manuscripts should be between 2,500 and 7,500 words, and may be
submitted either electronically, as an e-mail attachment to
biograph@hawaii.edu, or as a paper copy to the Center for Biographical
Research, University of Hawai'i, 1800 East-West Road #325, Honolulu, HI
96822 USA. _Biography_ follows a double-blind submission policy; the
author's name should not appear on the manuscript but in an accompanying
cover letter. Consultation on manuscript ideas is welcome. For more
information, contact the Center for Biographical
Research at biograph@hawaii.edu. Deadline for submissions: 15 August 2005=
.



 From the Literary Calls for Papers Mailing List