SEAPAVAA

SouthEast Asia-Pacific AudioVisual Archives Association

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Call for Papers: Reframing the Archive: The Reuse of Film and Photographic Images in Postcolonial Southeast Asia

Symposium and Film Screening Series, Centre for South East Asian Studies, SOAS, London, June 2017

In recent years, the decision to engage with colonial and postcolonial archives has become increasingly commonplace within Southeast Asian film, photography and visual culture. Whilst this renewed interest in archival materials has resulted in an increased awareness of the complexities of lens-based media, it has also allowed practitioners to challenge both the dominant narratives of colonialism and their neo- and postcolonial legacies. In the case of Cambodia and its diasporas, this archival impulse – and its accompanying modes of (re-) appropriation – is exemplified by films such as Rithy Panh’s La France est notre patrie [‘France is our Homeland’] and Davy Chou’s Golden Slumbers. Whereas the former offers an insight into the hypocrisies of French colonial rule, the latter takes its lead from the development of twentieth century Cambodian cinema. Yet despite differing in their aims and emphases, these projects share a number of common characteristics – namely, a desire to foreground the importance of preserving and revisiting archival materials: two imperatives which have acquired a particular significance in the aftermath of the Khmer Rouge regime.

Taking its lead from these recent developments, this symposium will explore the ways in which colonial and postcolonial film and photographic archives have been rearticulated within a range of Southeast Asian political and aesthetic contexts. How have artists and filmmakers sought to subvert existing power relations through the use of colonial images? To what extent have archival materials and technologies allowed for an investigation into the emancipatory potential of the lens? How have these techniques been utilised by diasporic populations? Though preference will be given to submissions which focus on Southeast Asia, we also welcome papers that draw comparisons with other postcolonial contexts. Possible lines of enquiry include:

  • The political and aesthetic implications of re-situating images
  • Hindu-Buddhist aesthetic conventions and their use/subversion in colonial and postcolonial lens-based practices
  • The ethics, politics and artistic innovations of documentary work
  • Contemporary artistic practices which explore the themes of space, place and home
  • The return of European filmmakers and photographers to the postcolony
  • The symposium will be accompanied by screenings of two feature-length films by Cambodian filmmakers and a series of short films by emerging filmmakers from Southeast Asia. This programme, we believe, will provide a further opportunity to address the themes raised by the symposium.

The conference and screening programme are organised by Dr Joanna Wolfarth, Dr Fiona Allen, and Annie Jael Kwan independent curator, The Asia Projector.

To submit a paper, please send paper titles, abstracts of c. 500 words and a 2-page CV to reframingthearchive@gmail.com

Contact Info:

Dr Joanna Wolfarth, Dr Fiona Allen, and Annie Jael Kwan: reframingthearchive@gmail.com

Contact Email:
reframingthearchive@gmail.com
URL:
https://www.soas.ac.uk/cseas/events/01jun2017-reframing-the-archive-the-reuse-of-film-and-photographic-images-in-postcol…

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  • 2016
    • Call for Papers: Reframing the Archive: The Reuse of Film and Photographic Images in Postcolonial Southeast Asia
    • Former FIAF President, Michelle Aubert, passed away
    • Call for Proposals for the 21st SEAPAVAA Conference
    • Job Posting: SEAPAVAA Administrative Assistant
    • Start Your Career in Moving Image Archiving & Preservation at NYU
    • ANNOUNCEMENT: The New CCAAA Website
    • Message of Sympathy
    • 2017 ARSC CONFERENCE: CALL FOR PRESENTATION PROPOSALS
    • 2016 International Archives Congress – Clark Pampanga, Philippines
    • World Day of Audio Visual Heritage 2016
    • Call for Nominations for the 2017 Elections
    • XXVII IAMHIST Conference: ‘Media and History: Crime, Violence and Justice’. (Paris, July 2017)
    • LOOK: SEAPAVAA 21 in Manila, Philippines
    • Celebrating World Day For Audiovisual Heritage 2016
    • CFP: Plaridel Special Issue on Cinema and the Archives in Southeast Asia
    • 2016, Guam: Summary of the 20th Conference
    • Our Cataloger goes to Guam for the 20th Annual SEAPAVAA conference
    • Call for Presentations – FIAT/IFTA Conference, Warsaw, October 12-15th
    • 20th SEAPAVAA CONFERENCE REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN
    • Call For Proposals for the 20th SEAPAVAA Conference Extended to 18 April 2016
    • Archives at Risk conference – Information and Call for Papers
    • Call for Proposals: SEAPAVAA 20
    • JTS Signup Ends 31 Jan 2016
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About

SEAPAVAA is an association of organizations and individuals involved in the development of audiovisual archiving in Southeast Asia and the Pacific as to preserve and provide access to the region's rich audiovisual heritage.

Contact

Ms. Kamille Olaño
SEAPAVAA Administrative Coordinator
secretariat@seapavaa.net

University of the Philippines School of Library and Information Studies
c/o SOLAIR, Jacinto St. UP Campus Diliman
Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines

Tel no: (+632) 981 8500 loc. 2869

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