*CFP* "EXPLORING URBAN SPACES IN CINEMA", SPECIAL ISSUE, CHALCHITRA DARPAN JOURNAL

Urbanisation and urbanity have brought with them new cultures, artistic avenues and opportunities. The cultural perceptions of a city, its conception, its morality and its decline have become an arena for discussions of modernity, technology, crime, theology, nostalgia and much more.

Cities have been explored in cinema in a myriad manifestations: as a character, as a fetish, as a historical document, as a cultural monument of religiosity, as a symbol of liberalism, sexuality and decay. The politics and juxtaposition of interior/exterior, public/private, political/civil, urban/rural are themes which deserve more ink to be shed on.

A paucity in urban cinema research and a panel discussion on the city of Kolkata made us evaluate the nature of the urban spaces and the themes it can span to, making us understand the need for such a research.

While we would largely want to focus on South Asian cinema, we do look forward to explorations of the theme beyond what we’ve already talked about. We also highly encourage studies on the vicissitudes of the city vis-a-vis ecology, imperialism, history and capitalism and hope that papers will not be limited to narrative cinema and would also explore the aesthetic and politics of documentary and experimental form. Empirical studies on urban film culture would also contribute substantially of the discourse we’re trying to garner. Issues of film historiography would also require an immensely critical-reading of texts and would be a great addition to the Journal. Of course, these are but a few limited themes and we expect scholars to play around with the subject!

Research Paper Submission

In the light of new developments in film studies and a lack of structured discourse on the same by undergraduates, we urge everyone to send in their papers and examine the theme from various perspectives.

Chalchitra Darpan accepts written pieces for submission. Written pieces can be either essays for our ‘Features’ section, which should be between 5,000-7,000 words (including footnotes, excluding bibliography) or shorter articles of approximately 1,000-3,000 words (including footnotes, excluding bibliography). Book reviews are typically 1,000 words.

While this is largely an undergraduate journal, we do encourage some expert comments or articles from researchers working in field.

All submissions should not be under consideration elsewhere, and should be original and previously unpublished.

Submissions can be in Hindi and English.

Abstract Submission

Proposal abstracts should be of no more than 250 words and must be accompanied by an indicative bibliography. A brief biography of the author of approx. 150 words should be provided along with the abstract. Abstracts should be sent through as Word Documents and titled “For consideration: Author First name Author Surname”

Please submit your proposal to on chalchitradarpan@gmail.com

Time-table:

Abstract Submission Deadline: 14th of October, 2019

Abstract Decision Announcement: 25th October, 2019

Final Draft Deadline: 30th December, 2019

Final Draft with Corrections: 5th January, 2020

Please feel free to contact us for further queries.

About Chalchitra Darpan

Chalchitra Darpan is an upcoming film journal by Celluloid, the Film Club of Miranda House, University of Delhi. The journal is a medium to bridge the gap between film academia and undergraduate research. It aims at encouraging film and media enthusiasts towards analysing the ever-changing field of films.

 

Editors-in-chief: Giitanjali and Oli Chatterjee

Opening Edition: Urban Spaces