Research Gertjan Willems

Abstract

The scientific objectives for my sabbatical leave can be divided into two main categories. 1) Continuation of ongoing research endeavours, among which finalizing a book on film policy in Flanders, and preparing an edited volume on post-war Belgian cinema; 2) Exploration of a new research line on amateur film and migration.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Willems Gertjan

Research team(s)

• Research Centre for Visual Poetics

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Given the US film industry's central position in the emergence of the #MeToo movement, it is highly relevant to study how this movement, as part of fourth-wave feminism, marks a cultural turning point for US cinema, in particular with regard to the representation of women in film. This project will study exactly this by focusing on one specific film genre: the female biopic. The project examines how the representations of women in female biopics have interacted with fourth-wave feminism since the emergence of the #MeToo movement (2018-2022). The project aims to investigate whether and how these biopics engage with key notions of fourth-wave feminism, including intersectionality, inclusivity, empowerment, agency, activism against abuses of power, collectivity, empathy, and solidarity. By doing so, the project questions whether we can speak of 'fourth-wave feminist (biographical) films' and 'fourth-wave feminist film representations of women', and if so, what they entail. Inspired by a cultural studies approach, the project integrates analyses of representation on the levels of film 'text', production, and reception. The methodologies used are genre study, ideological narrative analysis, social semiotics, cultural-industrial analysis, and historical materialist analysis.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Willems Gertjan
• Fellow: Bekers Katrijn

Research team(s)

• Research Centre for Visual Poetics

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

After the Second World War, a variety of national (Belgian), subnational (Flemish and Walloon) and transnational (Benelux, European, global, diaspora, etc.) identity discourses circulated in Belgium. This research project examines how post-war Belgian cinema relates to these national, subnational and transnational discourses. The timeframe runs from 1944 to 1960, a crucial period to study as it determines the direction of identity-building processes and discourses up to the present day. The relationship between post-war Belgian cinema and (sub/trans)national discourses is studied by 1) building and analysing a historical database on the post-war Belgian film industry, 2) analysing (sub/trans)national representations in a selection of films and 3) investigating the production and reception of these films. Apart from its relevance for Belgian film history, this project provides an original contribution to the international research field on film and (sub/trans)national identities by putting the multiplicity of and the relations between identity discourses at the centre of analysis. FWO Junior Research Project in collaboration with the University of Namur (cosupersivor Bénédicte Rochet).

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Willems Gertjan

Research team(s)

• Research Centre for Visual Poetics

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

In the 1960s and 1970s, the Antwerp-based film collective Fugitive Cinema injected Belgian cinema with a dose of political and social commitment. Fugitive Cinema's critical films, of which the alternative character was often reinforced by formal experiments, regularly caused national controversy and gained international acclaim. Next to its film production activities, Fugitive Cinema also provided an alternative to film culture at large by setting up a distribution system in Belgium and the Netherlands, organizing film screenings and debates all over Flanders, establishing a film club and a cultural centre in Antwerp, publishing its own film magazine and critically contributing to various other publications and public manifestations. While the collective's importance is undisputed, it has never been the subject of critical scrutiny. As Fugitive Cinema's archives have just been preserved by the University of Antwerp and the Felix Archive, this enables the first in-depth investigation of Fugitive Cinema's significance for film history in Belgium and beyond. Thereby, the project situates Fugitive's activities in the context of international political cinema and alternative film cultures. BOF DOCPRO4 project.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Willems Gertjan
• Co-promoter: Jacobs Steven
• Fellow: Baltussen Liesje

Research team(s)

• Research Centre for Visual Poetics

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The #MeToo hashtag has been impossible to overlook since actress Alyssa Milano first tweeted it in 2017. It gained widespread attention in the aftermath of sexual abuse allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. At that point, Weinstein was a co-chair of Miramax, a film production company known for its popular biographical films. The prestigious yet heavily understudied biopic genre presents an ideal case through which to thoroughly examine the film industry's reaction to the #MeToo movement and the wider fourth wave of feminism. The proposed project's general research objective is to investigate how the sociocultural context of fourth-wave feminism relates to the (1) representation, (2) production and (3) reception of contemporary English-language biopics (2010–2022). The project's main hypothesis proposes that, over the last decade, many biopics have been characterised by innovative storylines and representations of gender identities, in which empowerment, collectivity, intersectionality and similar notions are central. These elements have been shaped by and, at the same time, help shape fourth-wave feminism. This trend has led to the emergence of what I call the 'fourth-wave feminist biopic'. The proposed research project links the fields of biopic studies and contemporary feminist studies, innovatively combining traditional analyses of gender representation in film with production and reception research.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Willems Gertjan
• Fellow: Bekers Katrijn

Research team(s)

• Research Centre for Visual Poetics

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Over the last decades a major upswing of diaspora cinema in Europe took place. In Flanders, this flux of diaspora filmmaking is specifically relevant as cross-cultural identities have assumed a prominent role in contemporary cinematic narratives. Diaspora cinema is considered to be one of those symbolic sites of struggles within a multicultural society that can help in the deconstruction of Eurocentric and hegemonic modes of thought, eliciting a transnational, intercultural shift. While diaspora cinema studies usually depart from a textual or reception perspective, the media industry and policy contexts in which these diaspora discourses are produced and distributed remain understudied. This project is specifically interested in the complex relationship between Flemish film policy and the question of diasporic, intercultural diversity. This research project scrutinizes the political, industrial and socio-cultural dynamics of diaspora film productions in Flanders. Therefore, this project will (1) map Flemish film policy's institutional frameworks and discourses with regard to diaspora cultures and cinema (2002-2021); (2) critically investigate policy practices on Flemish diaspora film production and distribution; and (3) analyse cinematic representations of diaspora cultures. The main host institution for Alexander De Man's FWO PhD Fellowship is Ghent University (supervisor: Daniel Biltereyst), the University of Antwerp is the partner institution (supervisor: Gertjan Willems).

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Willems Gertjan

Research team(s)

• Visual and Digital Cultures Research Center (ViDi)

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Preservation of the archive of filmmaker Robbe De Hert and his film collective Fugitive Cinema. Due to De Hert's position as a central figure in the Belgian film and cultural world since the 1960s, the historical value of this archive is beyond question. The archive will be transferred to the Felix Archives, the Antwerp City Archive. The film material (in various formats) will be deposited with CINEMATEK, the Royal Belgian Film Archive. Meemoo, the Flemish archive institute, is working on the digitisation and durable preservation of the audiovisual material.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Willems Gertjan

Research team(s)

• Research Centre for Visual Poetics

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

In recent years, Belgian cinema has witnessed the revival of a Belgian identity in films and in their surrounding discourses. Still, most Belgian films seem to remain predominantly associated with either the Flemish or the French Community. At the same time, while growing cultural diversity is transforming national identities in Belgian cinema, transnational and cosmopolitan identities are challenging the very notion of national identity. This research project aims at a critical investigation of the complex relationship between cinema and (trans)national identities in Belgium. The state of the nation in Belgian cinema is studied by means of quantitative and qualitative research methods, making use of digital tools and involving textual film analysis, industrial and policy analysis, and reception analysis. The project contributes to a better understanding of contemporary Belgian cinema, while also providing an original empirical contribution to the study of the relationship between media and (trans)national identities in Western Europe. BOF DOCPRO4 project.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Willems Gertjan
• Fellow: Van Beek Bram

Research team(s)

• Research Centre for Visual Poetics

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This research project aims at investigating the relation between media and nation-building in Flanders. The project consists of two parts. First, the project focuses on film and nation-building in Flanders from 1945 until today. Through quantitative and qualitative textual film analyses, the project critically examines the cinematic representation of Flanders and Flemish identities. Second, the project places these findings in their broader media and cultural context. This is done by editing an interdisciplinary volume on media and nation-building in Flanders from the 19th century until today. In this second part, the project offers an original synthesis of the existing research on media and nation-building in Flanders and formulates a research agenda for the future. BOF Small Research Grant.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Willems Gertjan

Research team(s)

• Research Centre for Visual Poetics

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Located at the heart of Western Europe and together serving as the direct predecessor of the European Union, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg (the Benelux) are closely connected historically, politically and culturally. Nevertheless, they differ greatly in terms of national identity, making the countries particularly interesting to compare. This research project aims to make such a comparison by examining the role of the media in the contemporary construction of national and transnational identities. More specifically, the project focuses on how films and film policies in Belgium (Flanders and the French Community), the Netherlands and Luxembourg relate to (trans)national identities. The time frame of the project starts in 2009, when the Euro crisis began, and runs until 2018. The study relies on quantitative and qualitative research methods, making use of digital tools and involving analysis of films, policy documents, film (policy) production and circulation data, press documents and expert interviews. The project provides an innovative contribution to the international academic agenda due to its comparative and small media industries approach and its focus on the contemporary relationship between media and (trans)national identity in Western Europe. FWO Senior Postdoctoral Fellow with Ghent University as host institution (supervisor Daniel Biltereyst) and the University of Antwerp as partner institution (supervisor Philippe Meers).

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Meers Philippe
• Co-promoter: Vande Winkel Roel
• Fellow: Willems Gertjan

Research team(s)

• Visual and Digital Cultures Research Center (ViDi)

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This research project focuses on the relationship between national identity and contemporary film policy in Flanders. The aim of the project is 1) to investigate the (regional, national and supranational) government film policy framework and to analyse the role of film policy in 2) the production context of films; 3) the promotion, distribution and exhibition of films; and 4) the sort of films and the representations that are produced. Throughout the analyses, the complex relationships with Flemish identity take a central place. At the same time, several other contemporary film policy issues (e.g. transnational dimensions and digital challenges) are taken into account and the Flemish situation is put into a comparative and European perspective. The relations between film, policy and national identity will be explored through multi-methodological quantitative and qualitative research, involving policy documents analysis, analysis of film (policy) production and circulation data, expert interviews and textual film analysis. Apart from its relevance for recent Flemish and Belgian film historiography, the project provides an innovative contribution to the international academic agenda by focusing on the largely neglected field of film policy studies (particularly within the broader framework of the established field of media policy). Moreover, the project contributes to a better understanding of the contemporary relationship between media and national identity in Western Europe.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Meers Philippe
• Fellow: Willems Gertjan

Research team(s)

• Visual and Digital Cultures Research Center (ViDi)

Project type(s)

• Research Project