*CFP* "ANIMATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY. RETHINKING IMAGES AND TECHNOLOGY", 27TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF FILM STUDIES

Animation in the 21^st Century. Rethinking Images and Technology

Roma Tre University

Rome, 25-26 November 2021

The conference aims to propose a reflection that examines the dynamics and mechanisms behind the creation of some of the most interesting national and international contemporary animation trends. The topics will place them in close connection with the current media scenario (cinema, advertising, videogames, the web, animated documentaries, TV series, contemporary art, digital culture) and with transmedia aesthetic and narrative forms originating from different cultural paradigms.

The conference will pay particular attention to the conjunction between theories and practices and between mainstream and experimental forms. Hence, it intends to investigate animated films as an industrial, narrative, aesthetic and ideological “system” promoting imaginaries, aesthetics, and values. It also delves into the production of artists who move on the borders, free from conditioning and devoted to the more advanced technological research. Therefore, the conference’s overall aim is to revitalize and address the concept of animation in contemporary visual culture, investigating its theoretical, historical, political, and cultural nature in relation to the new moving images.

The following is an incomplete and non-binding list of possible areas for consideration:

• Theories and practices of animation: styles and aesthetics of new animation products; authorial and consumer poetics; forms of movement and sciences of /bios/; philosophical implications arising from the relationship between human and posthuman, also in relation to the bodies and models used for the configuration of subjectivity; the animation within the theoretical debate of contemporary Film and Media Studies;
• Histories: animation studio cultures and styles; auteurs models; animation genres; the global concept and world history; mainstream animated series and transnational media industries; independent productions that exploit alternative distribution channels; the relationship with the new star and studio system; animated production in relation to gender policies; experimental animation (historical avant gardes, abstract film, art cinema and underground film, video art);
• Techniques and technologies: between digital and traditional animation; the renewal of animated drawing and computer graphics; experimental animation techniques (hand painted film, pin screen, découpage, stop motion, pixilation, slow motion animation, morphing, sand animation, etc.); artisan and computer technologies; the ambiguity in the theoretical statute of motion and performance capture techniques and technologies; animation professions; the role of user-generated, grassroots animation images and softwares for amateurs;
• Contexts: global and transnational scenarios; the role of ideology, gender, race, and ethnicity; artivisms and political practices, especially in the scenarios of social media and online sharing; the link between methods of production and expression; analysis of the narrative, aesthetic and cultural aspects that distinguish the films produced by the major American studios (from Disney and Pixar to Dreamworks, from Blue Sky to Illumination Entertainment) in relation to those from other geographical and production contexts (such as Japan, France or Eastern Europe);
• Reception: the role of the fandom; forms of merchandising; forms of identity, community, and participation; the production dimension and economic aspects; cross-media distribution platforms; the circulation and distribution of contemporary animation; relationships between wide and varied audiences; amateur forms;
• Interdisciplinarity: animation in film and media, between practices of remediation, adaptation, and transmedia storytelling; relations with advertising, videogames, the web, animated documentaries, television series, contemporary art, digital culture; artistic animation and visual arts;
• Animation and pedagogy: animation as a Film and Media Literacy tool; animation in the processes of education and awareness of contemporary audio-visual culture; new expressive languages, the use of new technologies, and the evolution of the cultural industry in the Didactics of cinema and audiovisuals; animated film schools;
• Significant case studies in contemporary animation.

Proposals, 300-500 words long, should be sent to roma3conference@uniroma3.it , accompanied by 3-5 keywords, a short biography, and contact details.

The deadline for the submission of abstracts is Friday, 3 September 2021. Acceptance will be confirmed by 24 September.