French Queer Cinema - by Nick Rees-Roberts (Hardcover)

About the Book

A full account of the formation and reception of contemporary queer film in France.

Book Synopsis

French Queer Cinema looks at queer self-representation in contemporary auteur film and experimental video in France. Whilst there is growing research on representations of queer sexualities in France, this is the first comprehensive study of the cultural formation and critical reception of contemporary queer film and video. French Queer Cinema addresses the socio-political context informing both queer DIY video and independent gay cinema, including films such as Patrice Chéreau's Ceux qui m'aiment prendront le train, Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau's Drôle de Félix, François Ozon's Le Temps qui reste and André Téchiné's Les Témoins. Taking up the recent Anglo-American attention to queer migration, the book looks at gay fantasies of Arab (beur) men, as well as beur self-representation in Europe's fastest-selling gay DV porn production Citébeur. Further chapters cover transgender dissent, and the effects of AIDS and loss on the formation of gay identities.Key Features*Provides a full, up-to-date account of the formation, reception and setting for contemporary queer film and video in France.*Situates cinematic representations of migration, social exclusion and queer sexualities in the context of recent repressive legislation on sex work and immigration.*Covers the work of less well-known directors such as Christophe Honoré, Sébastien Lifshitz and Gaël Morel.

From the Back Cover

French Queer Cinema looks at queer self-representation in contemporary auteur film and experimental video in France. Whilst there is growing research on representations of queer sexualities in France, this is the first comprehensive study of the cultural formation and critical reception of contemporary queer film and video. French Queer Cinema addresses the socio-political context informing both queer DIY video and independent gay cinema, including films such as Patrice Chéreau's Ceux qui m'aiment prendront le train, Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau's Drôle de Félix, François Ozon's Le Temps qui reste and André Téchiné's Les Témoins. Taking up the recent Anglo-American attention to queer migration, the book looks at gay fantasies of Arab (beur) men, as well as beur self-representation in Europe's fastest-selling gay DV porn production Citébeur. Further chapters cover transgender dissent, and the effects of AIDS and loss on the formation of gay identities. Key Features *Provides a full, up-to-date account of the formation, reception and setting for contemporary queer film and video in France. *Situates cinematic representations of migration, social exclusion and queer sexualities in the context of recent repressive legislation on sex work and immigration. *Covers the work of less well-known directors such as Christophe Honoré, Sébastien Lifshitz and Gaël Morel. Nick Rees-Roberts is Lecturer in French, University of Bristol.

Review Quotes

Nick Rees-Roberts' volume is a welcome addition to French cinema studies. It is a thorough documentation and analysis of representations of queerness in contemporary French film and is a work that engages a wide variety of subjects including the depiction of minorities, independent and auteur films, and pornography. The author ably shows the intersections between queer subjects and AIDS, republican values, identity politics, inscriptions of sexualities in daily life, and other contemporary concerns. This volume is a valuable addition to our understanding of post-modern French culture and will be of great value to students and researchers alike.--Professor Lawrence R. Schehr, University of Illinois

About the Author

Nick Rees-Roberts is Lecturer in French at the University of Bristol.