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)
Research team(s)
Project type(s)