Introduction

Abstract

This book reflects the fact that Marxist film activism is a question of the production, textual characteristics and reception of film. Consequently, practically all the essays included in this collection deal with one if not all of these three aspects. It presents a wide spectrum of cases, using examples from different periods of cinema’s history and different locations. The volume aims to fill a gap in research as this form of activism is barely covered in existing publications and to connect the almost hegemonic position of the neoliberal version of capitalism with an increased accessibility of digital technologies and growth of channels of distribution of films. Filmmakers covered are Aleksandr Medvedkin Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet, Chris Marker and Jean-Luc Godard to films like 5 Broken Cameras (2010) by Emad Burnat and Guy David, A Screaming Man (2010) by Mahomet-Saleh Haroun and Fernando Solanas and Octavio Getino’s seminal Third Cinema film, The Hour of the Furnaces (1968)