Being and Becoming: The Cinemas of Asia

Aruna Vasudev, Latika Padgaonkar, and Rashmi Doraiswamy (Editors)

The mid-1980s saw a burst of energy from the cinemas of Asia, from Iran to China, Taiwan, Turkey and India. The names of Asian directors and stars entered the vocabulary of film circles around the world. And in the years since then, Asian filmmakers have followed a variety of trajectories in presenting their work outside of their home markets, cooperating with Hollywood, or across borders in Asia, or venturing out through international film festival circuits. What were the various factors at play in the rise of Asian cinema? How has the development of Asian cinema industries and styles played out against the Hollywood model? And importantly, what are the differences that come from reading Asian films on the one hand, within the political and social contexts of their home country, and on the other, as cinema in a global context? This essential reference work covers the cinema of some 30 countries in Asia, with essays that bring together historical, political and social background with perceptive commentary on trends and directions. About the authors: Twenty-nine eminent historians and critics of film in Asia, almost all of them from the countries about which they write, are marshaled here by the editors of Cinemaya magazine, a New Delhi-edited journal which provided unparalleled independent coverage of the breadth of Asian cinema since 1986.

Aruna VASUDEV is the Founder-Editor and Publisher of Cinemaya, The Asian Film Quarterly, Founder-President of NETPAC and Founder-Director of CINEFAN. A member of many international film festival juries, she has done pioneering work in promoting Asian cinema.
Latika PADGAONKAR is Executive Editor, Cinemaya. She has taught at Jawaharlal Nehru University, and was for more than fifteen years National Information Officer at UNESCO, New Delhi.
Rashmi DORAISWAMY was formerly the Executive Editor of Cinemaya. She has served on various film festival juries in India and abroad and lectures extensively on cinema and film appreciation.

publication year: 2003
580 pages
ISBN: 0333-93820-8  Hardback  US$36.00  S$48.00
      
Distributed for Macmillan India.