Streszczenie

Middle Eastern cinema, with its rich cultural heritage and diverse history, is an extremely intriguing and multifaceted area of research. This specific region is a meeting place of a variety of traditions, cultures, and religions, which is reflected in filmmaking. In recent decades, Middle Eastern cinema has experienced dynamic development, gaining international recognition, and becoming a recognizable player in the global film market.

With this issue of “Images”, both the authors and the editors were dedicated to analyzing and interpreting films and digital audiovisual forms from the Middle East: those that reflect the current social, political, and cultural reality of the region, as well as those that seek the historical origins of the phenomena which we are currently observing. The first part contains articles by scholars representing different branches of film and media studies, who have undertaken the analysis of Middle Eastern cinema and digital media from multiple perspectives.

The texts compiled in this volume provide an interesting look at how filmmakers from the Middle East region use these media to explore significant existential, social and political themes, while creating narratives that cross cultural and geographical boundaries.

Słowa kluczowe

nationalism |cinema |Palestinian cinema |Palestine |Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Streszczenie

This article explores Palestinian cinema’s fourth period of activity that began around 1980. During this time, the world did not acknowledge the existence of the Palestinian people and their territory. Palestinian cinema thus emerged as a tool to create a national identity and voice, and to establish a continuous time and space that defined their history and territory. The films projected a collective consciousness that united the dispersed Palestinian community, creating a shared community. To achieve these goals, Palestinian cinema employed unique and complex artistic means, with its national purpose remaining consistent with its complex cinematic poetics. This bird’s-eye-view article highlights the shared spirit of the films and emphasizes the commonality beyond the differences. It offers an insight into the cinematic language that characterized this period and the principles that made Palestinian cinema a unique voice on the global stage.

Słowa kluczowe

comedy |satire |social media |digital content |Millennials |Israel

Streszczenie

This paper claims that Israeli web content creators are less politically engaged and overtly critical in comparison to local filmmakers who have been creating for cinema and television. Their comedy leans towards lighthearted nonsense and avoids taking a stand on controversial topics. It is argued that this can be explained by both universal and uniquely local reasons. In general, web creators are not judged by the same standards of artistic quality that is attributed to films and TV shows. Therefore, they choose different topics and aesthetics, which might appear less “substantial” or “artistic” by traditional perceptions. Also, Millennials are often considered by critics to be less rebellious and more self-centered. In addition, Israeli society has become more right-wing, nationalist, and religious. Contemporary culture therefore favors crowd-pleasing optimism over critique or complaints that ‘spoil the party’. Furthermore, artists’ self-censorship is affected by a growing lack of tolerance, which is sometimes expressed through social media outrage, and might cause severe damage to their careers. Based on these explanations, this paper then analyzes three independent web comedies which touch upon the debatable topic of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories, and the national-religious community, yet do it with varying degrees of criticism.

Słowa kluczowe

Abbas Kiarostami |The Wind Will Carry Us |Iranian cinema |religious cinema |Bible in cinema

Streszczenie

After outlining the state of research, the article presents an interpretation of Abbas Kiarostami’s film The Wind Will Carry Us (1999), made using the concept of mythic narrative developed by the author two decades ago. The author reconstructs the deep structure of the story and the mechanisms inscribed in it for the transformation of the main character, and his transition from the state of inner death to life. Taking advantage of its narrative openness and symbolic universality, he inscribes it in a close biblical context. He also considers this procedure legitimate because of the concept of “unfinished cinema” repeatedly presented and affirmed by the director.

Słowa kluczowe

Iran |social media |protest |animacja |aktywizm

Słowa kluczowe

groteska |kino saudyjskie |zmiany społeczne w Arabii Saudyjskiej |Arabia Saudyjska |Meshal Al Jaser

Słowa kluczowe

film |dystrybucja filmowa |kino Bliskiego Wschodu

Streszczenie

I have been interested in painting and illustration since I was a little child... though I didn’t know what “illustration” exactly was, but when I leafed through my picture books, I wanted to be the person who created them... mostly, I imagined him/her illustrating. So as I grew up, I found that I could study art, and it made me so excited. I remember I couldn’t believe it... this was such a huge deal. So I entered Fine Art School in 2013 and studied painting for 3 years. One thing led to another, and I found myself in the puppet theater department at university, which was an amazing experience. I loved both – puppets and paintings so much but I always felt something was wrong. I was not satisfied with those two. So I started learning how to illustrate on digital devices, and I loved the process so much. I learned everything by myself in my tiny room, but I never got tired of it, and I found that it is my thing! I believe illustration is a kind of language created by the artist and everyone can understand it. I think this is it. This is my story... My illustrations are all about women, especially women in Iran. They are all about the sexism in Iran and the patriarchal, brutal government. After the death of Mahsa Amini, I started making illustrations about these issues. And it was not just me – so many Iranian illustra- tors were making art about her death and the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ movement. So, I did too. I did it in my own way, I used symbolic and iconic elements in my arts, like birds, flowers and – most of all – girls and boys together, as a collective, as a team.

I believe it’s more emotional and makes more of an impression when you show what your dream world would look like. I don’t want to draw the brutal world I was born in. I think I should draw girls and boys trying to defy the brutality with their pure hearts and hopeful hands. I draw for the people who want to live in a free Iran. I hope the readers of “Images” will enjoy my works.

Streszczenie

We are all born somewhere in this world. The nature around us is the first element to shape us, with all of the unique characteristics of that particular place. Then we give names to these characteristics and meanings to these places – names that come from within ourselves and are part of our culture. This project is part of my life story, which I have tried to tell through photography. It was a way for me to discover my culture as I turned back to myself and my identity. I was searching for the stories behind the lives of the Kurdish people with images. At times, it was difficult to truly see and document people in my home region because the political situation and the civil war had closed them off. People became afraid to share their lives and ideas and their identity. And so it took time for me to be allowed to enter their lives. But when I did, it was truly rewarding to see and understand them. As the walls between us fell, I realized how close I was – and yet, still so far from my culture and to the people who enrich it.

Słowa kluczowe

platforma streamingowa |rynek audiowizualny |studio produkcyjne |platformizacja

Słowa kluczowe

ironia |William Szekspir |kino |Fiodor Dostojewski |miłość |Andrzej Żuławski |Jean Luc Godard

Słowa kluczowe

Tomasz Mann |Buddenbrookowie |Luchino Visconti |Zmierzch bogów |literackie inspiracje w kinie

Słowa kluczowe

prawo |teoria |autor |autorstwo |plagiat |praktyka

Słowa kluczowe

horror |semantyka |wampir |adaptacja filmowa |Stephen King |semiotyka kina |Miasteczko Salem |Tobe Hooper |Mikael Salomon

Słowa kluczowe

communication |Instagram |painter |art |followers

Streszczenie

Instagram is a social network platform intended for communication between the creator of information and its recipients, as well as between the recipients themselves. The driving force of Instagram has been recognised by many artists that decided to promote their creative work on this platform. This social network is also used to fulfil advertising contracts that the artists have concluded with companies. The question therefore is whether the number of followers is mainly affected by the artistic achievements of their authors or by out-of-art marketing activities? Instagram contains many profiles of people involved in other branches of art, including painting. It seems that due to the field of art they deal with, the private life of an artist painting pictures is not as interesting as the life of popular actors or singers. As a result, their profiles are mainly concentrated on presenting artistic achievements using a platform that helps them reach a broad spectrum of viewers. This article provides a selective review of popular profiles of artists, taking into consideration the way in which they present their art on the Internet and how the artist communicates with users, as well as how the communication between users themselves looks.