Radical Film Network Meeting Berlin: OPEN CALL Book “Radical Film at the Dawn of a New Society”

You are invited to make a contribution to a new book arising from the Radical Film Network Meeting Berlin (RFNMB). Under the working title “Radical Film at the Dawn of a New Society”, the book aims to critically interrogate how various actors working at the intersection of radical film, art and digital culture are engaging with issues of our present time shaped by changes and disruptions of seismic proportions.

The events of the year 2020 have fundamentally transformed public life almost beyond recognition. It remains to be seen if these transformations are here to stay or just a passing phase. These events and many of the transformations they have given rise to have fostered a surge of anxiety, feelings of powerlessness and a dark vision of the future. However, if we take a second look at the current situation, we can also see a newly developed focus on the importance of community, of solidarity and on maintaining sociality, all of which hold the promise of a new society. And while anxiety is often said to embody paralyzing features, one could argue that anxiety — a basic human emotion like joy, lust and anger — is a strong motive for collective human action because nobody wants to stay alone in the dark.

We propose to overcome the anxiety together and to collectively develop productive solutions to reclaim control. We are seeking contributions which investigate the possibilities of radical film cultures to regain agency and to offer productive ways out of the current bleakness. How can this state of affairs be aesthetically translated into new forms of radical film or cinema? We welcome contributions from individuals and communities both inside and outside of academia, in particular, from activists, artists, filmmakers, policymakers and researchers. Contributions can either capture entirely new work or engage with past work taking a new perspective. They can take the form of any of, but not limited to, the following formats: academic papers, interviews, essays, photo stories, poems, short stories, diaries, codings or drawings or even memes.

Contributions should engage with expressions of ‘radicality’ that articulate democratic and progressive Leftist politics and culture in their treatment of topics during this moment relating to issues like racism, sexism, classism, identity politics, capitalist exploitation, social care, gentrification, conflict, migration, curatorial and archival practices, digitalization, surveillance, revolutionary movements, concepts of nature, climate change, pollution, pharmaceutics, drug politics and the pandemic measures among other topics.

If you are interested in making a contribution to the book, please send a 500-word proposal or sample contribution to pub@radicalfilm.net by February 15, 2021.

Important Dates:

15 February 2021: Proposal Submission Deadline;
15 March 2021: Notification of Acceptance;
15 August 2021: Full Chapter Submission;
15 December 2022: Peer Review Comments Returned;
15 January 2022: Contributor Revisions Due;
15 February 2022: Final Acceptance Notification.

More information on publisher, contributions to the event RFMNB in Berlin, and the RFMNB team, please consult the website:

www.radicalfilm.net