Upcoming conference: “Off- and On-Screen The ‘New Woman’ in the Cinema of the Russian Empire,” September 1-3, 2022, University of Basel

Early cinema is closely linked to the changes in the role and image of women. This is also the case in the Russian Empire, where cinema has gained an important part in women’s lives from the early 1900s onwards. Behind the scenes, women worked as professionals in various fields, from scriptwriting to directing to theatrical distribution; on screen, they would often play the main characters and their star performances could cast a lasting spell on the audience; last but not least, women were also deeply engaged with and influenced the development of narrative cinema in their roles as viewers, critics and fans.

By exploring the mentioned areas more profoundly, the international conference aims to develop new perspectives on the era of early Russian cinema as well as on women’s self-liberation in the context of the emergence of the new medium of film.

Organized by Olga Dereviankina (Gosfilmofond of Russia), Anna Kovalova (European University of St. Petersburg) and Clea Wanner (Department for Slavic Studies, University of Basel) in cooperation with Ute Holl (Department for Media Studies, University of Basel)

More information and the conference program can be found here.