*CFP* "KATHRYN BIGELOW: A VISIONARY FILMMAKER", 2ND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON 21TH CENTURY FILM DIRECTORS

The Second International Conference on Twenty-First Century Film Directors

University of Wolverhampton in collaboration with Light House Media Centre, Wolverhampton presents

Kathryn Bigelow: A Visionary Filmmaker

Thursday July 11th 2019 at Light House Media Centre, Wolverhampton

Keynote: Dr Deborah Jermyn, University of Roehampton, London

Film director Kathryn Bigelow is the first female filmmaker to win an Academy Award for Best Director, controversially achieving it for The Hurt Locker (2008) over James Cameron’s Avatar (2009). The Hurt Locker followed K19-The Widowmaker (2002), a film that marked a turning point for Bigelow, first, in the crossover from independent counter-cinema to mainstream Hollywood and second, for a focus on themes that have dominated subsequent films, namely politics, war and the military. 

The Hurt Locker went on to win six Academy Awards in total and achieved widespread critical acclaim, although it is Zero Dark Thirty, released in 2012, that is Bigelow’s most successful film commercially. If this reflected obvious global interest in Osama bin Laden, the world’s most wanted terrorist, it was also a sign of Bigelow’s ability to convey authenticity through her distinctive vision. This vision has been evident throughout her ten films, which span a broad range of genres that often have violent and provocative content. Her unique approach is articulated through stylised cinematography, shot composition and editing techniques, as well as a focus on subjective camera, surveillance, and complex and contradictory protagonists. She is also known for crossing genre boundaries and having a fascination with countercultural lifestyles.

We welcome abstracts that examine any aspect of Bigelow’s filmmaking, particularly contributions centring on:

• Individual films 
• Bigelow in the broader context of women directors 
• Feminist perspectives 
• Violence and transgression 
• Genres and genre-bending 
• Countercultural lifestyles 
• Crossover from independent to mainstream filmmaker 
• Bigelow as auteur 
• Politics, war and the military as themes 
• Aesthetic approaches 
• Subjective camera and images involving vision and surveillance 
• Complex characterisation

Please send a 300-word abstract along with a 100 word bio by Wednesday 24th April 2019 to: Fran Pheasant-Kelly, University of Wolverhampton f.e.pheasant-kelly@wlv.ac.uk. A final listing of accepted presentations will be released on 1st May 2019. Delegate fees are £50 (£20 for students/concessions) to include lunch, refreshments, and evening wine reception.

Light House Media Centre is the Black Country’s only independent cinema, housing two screens, galleries and a café bar within the iconic Victorian architecture of The Chubb Buildings.