[KineJapan] Call for Papers: Kinema Club in Kyoto (August 1-3)

[Zahlten, Alexander]

Hello Everyone,

As previously announced, please find below a Call for Papers for a Kinema Club to be held in Kyoto on August 1-3, 2025 on the topic of sexuality and gender. Prof. Yuka Kanno of Doshisha University and I are co-organizing, and it is planned to be held at Doshisha University and at screening venues around Kyoto.

While the call may seem like a bit of short notice, we wanted to avoid clashing with the call for papers for the Kinema Club held at Nippon Connection Film Festival in Frankfurt, Germany, this May/June (more on the fantastic program there soon!). We at first considered moving this KC to next year, but decided that the topic has special significance at this moment, and it is a conference that would be important to be held now.

The conferences languages will be English and Japanese- and while Kyoto in August is hot, we will do our best to keep you cool; we hope to see you there!

All best
Alex


Kinema Club Conference for Film and Moving Images from Japan XXIV

In

Kyoto





Dates:                          August 1 - 3, 2025

Location:                                 Kyoto

Proposal Deadline:                  April 14, 2025





Organized by: Yuka Kanno (Doshisha University) & Alexander Zahlten (Harvard University)



Conference languages: English & Japanese



We welcome proposals for the 24th Kinema Club Conference for Film and Moving Images from Japan, to be held in Kyoto on the topic of gender and sexuality and cinema and moving images from/ in Japan.



The conference will consist of two sections, one with panel presentations and one with discussion roundtables that will, as far as possible, be tied to film screenings.



Conference theme:

This conference aims to take stock of the discussion of gender and sexuality with regard to cinema in Japan and to encourage conversations on future directions. Put differently, what possibilities do we have for discussing gender and / or sexuality with and through film and moving images from / in Japan? How has the discussion or conceptualization of gender and/or sexuality changed in film and moving images in Japan? The rise of media studies has led to attempts to go beyond representation, or to structurally tie representation to technologies, infrastructures, or cross-media dynamics such as media mix. Do these approaches offer new perspectives, or do we need to search out a third (fourth, fifth…) way? Similarly, we envision discussing gender and sexuality and their intersection(ality) with other categories in relation to broader cinematic practices, including but not limited to identities and representations.



Papers / Panels:

As outlined above, we encourage submission of papers that point - be it in methodology or topic - to the future of the study of gender and/or sexuality within the study of film and moving images from/in Japan. However, that may also mean retaining or returning to certain methodologies depending on how appropriate they seem to the historical or disciplinary moment. Papers will be fifteen minutes in length, with the emphasis on leaving ample time for discussion.



Papers may be presented in English or Japanese.



We ask for proposals to point - be it in methodology or topic - to the relevance of the project within the present and future of the study of film and moving images from Japan. What do national signifiers like “Japan” offer to work on gender and/or sexuality with regard to film and moving images “in Japan”?



We especially seek for graduate students to apply, and encourage drawing on dissertation topics.



Screenings:



The conference will be partially held at Doshisha University and partially at local film theaters, and will include film screenings (exact titles to be announced soon).





Roundtables:



Roundtable 1: The films / moving images:

What is the current status of gender and / or sexuality in film, film culture, or in filmic practices in or from Japan? This discussion will use the conference screenings as a launchpad but go well beyond them to consider ongoing developments.



Roundtable 2: The theory:

What are developments in various disciplinary and methodological areas that seem central to current and future discussion of gender and sexuality in film and moving images, not only in or from Japan?





Proposals:



Panel papers:               Please send abstracts of up to 200 words in English or 150 characters in Japanese and a short bio.





Note: When sending a proposal please indicate if you are also open to participating in a roundtable.





Proposal submission: KC.Kyoto.2025 at gmail.com<mailto:KC.Kyoto.2025 at gmail.com>





Deadlines:



Paper proposals: April 14







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