“Our job is to pull audience to Soviet films with all means necessary”. State-Monopolised Film Distribution and Patterns of Film Exhibition in Two Eastern Bloc Cities in the Stalinist Period: A Comparative Case Study of Cracow (Poland) and Magdeburg (East Germany)
* Kathleen Lotze werkt momenteel aan de Universiteit Antwerpen aan haar doctoraatsproject Antwerp... more * Kathleen Lotze werkt momenteel aan de Universiteit Antwerpen aan haar doctoraatsproject Antwerpen Kinemastad over filmexploitatie en-receptie in Antwerpen van 1945-1995. Daarvoor was zij als onderzoeker betrokken bij het project De 'Verlichte' Stad over beeldcultuur en filmconsumptie in Vlaanderen (1895-2004). Eerder assisteerde zij bij diverse filmhistorische en mediagerelateerde onderzoeksprojecten aan
The increasing availability of films and cinema-related heritage in digital form, as well as the ... more The increasing availability of films and cinema-related heritage in digital form, as well as the creation and use of structured datasets related to the contexts of film production, distribution and consumption, have invited the use of new, computational approaches for studying cinema and its history. In this article, we review the online database Cinema Context (www.cinemacontext.nl) and its impact on the study of historical film cultures. Cinema Context is a relational database and research instrument for studying the history of film culture in the Netherlands. After an introduction to Cinema Context and its position within the international research context, we address its usage in order to discuss the opportunities and challenges of transforming a complex phenomenon such as Dutch film culture into structured data, and we reflect on its implications for film historical research.
Experiences of the 'Enlightened City'. Combining exhibition and programming data with oral histories on cinema going in Flanders
NECS, 2008
... Record Details. Record ID, 602090. Record Type, conference. Author, Philippe Meers; Daniël Bi... more ... Record Details. Record ID, 602090. Record Type, conference. Author, Philippe Meers; Daniël Biltereyst [801001158502] - Ghent University Daniel.Biltereyst@UGent.be; Liesbeth Van de Vijver [801001937835] - Ghent University Liesbeth.VandeVijver@UGent.be; Kathleen Lotze ...
, the month I started this PhD endeavor, I had a conversation with an emeritus professor. I had j... more , the month I started this PhD endeavor, I had a conversation with an emeritus professor. I had just given my first presentation of some preliminary findings that originated in the cumulative work of previous researchers within the "Enlightened City" project. This professor was fascinated by the topic of the presentation, about memories of cinemagoing in Antwerp in the past. When I told him that this and other work done within that project will be part of my own PhD project he responded resolutely: "That will never work. I have never seen anyone successfully complete what someone else had started." Well, here we are. "Antwerpen Kinemastad" is completed. Working on this project and writing this thesis took far longer than expected for various reasons that do not need to be listed here. They were the stumbling blocks on my road to success, but they also provided opportunities to take a step back, to recharge, to reflect, to reshuffle priorities. Just as I was constantly moving forward and backward in time and space, so was this thesis, both in figurative and literal sense. It was written in Antwerp, Velserbroek, Haarlem, Rietschen, Rouzède and Berlin, on long train rides and in dozens of waiting rooms of stations and hospitals. Naturally, a legion of colleagues, friends, family members and other supporters were part of this journey. First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to the University of Antwerp and the University Research Fund. They not only gave me the opportunity to start a doctoral project on a fascinating subject, but also created an environment that encouraged participation in national and international congresses, summer schools and trainings, which all helped me to mature as a researcher and to improve my personal skills as well as to disseminate and discuss results of my research. This also holds for my supervisor, Professor Philippe Meers. I guess it's safe to say that our collaboration started off in the toughest way one can imagine. I cannot be grateful enough for his Abbreviation Full term Explanation ABVV Algemeen Belgisch Vakverbond ABVV Algemeen Belgisch Vakverbond General Federation of Belgian Labor AK Antwerpen Kinemastad PhD project. AKA Antwerpse Kinema Aktualiteiten Antwerp newsreels BBKC Belgische Beroepskamer der Cinematografie Belgian Professional Chamber of Cinematography BRTN Belgische Radio-en Televisieomroep Nederlandstalige Uitzendingen Belgian Radio and Television Broadcaster for Dutch-language Broadcasts CFA Centrale Filmclub Antwerpen Central Film Club Antwerp CSBC Belgische Syndicale Kamer van Cinematographie Belgian Syndicate of Cinematography DOCIP Documentatiecentrum voor de cinematografische pers Documentation center for the cinematographic press, founded in the 1930s. EAO European Audiovisual Observatory EHC Erfgoedbibliotheek Henrik Conscience Heritage library Henrik Conscience (Antwerp) FOD Federale Overheidsdienst Financiën Federal Public Service Finances GvA Gazet van Antwerpen local daily newspaper in Antwerp KFL Katholieke Filmliga Catholic Film League KNT Kinderen niet toegelaten children (under sixteen) not admitted KT Kinderen toegelaten children (under sixteen) admitted NBB Nationale Bank van België National Bank of Belgium NBB Nederlandse Bioscoopbond Netherlands Cinema Alliance, founded in 1921 to represent the interests of Dutch exhibitors and distributors NIS Nationaal Instituut voor de Statistiek National Institute for Statistics NV Naamloze vennootschap Company with limited liability PVBA Publieke vennootschap met beperkte aansprakelijkheid Public company with limited liability SaS Stad aan de Stroom Non-profit organisation, founded in 1989, supported by Antwerp's city council and responsible for the integration of different interest groups (sea port, business wo/men, authorities, local population etc.) to improve the quality of urban life. VKBB Vereniging der Kinemabestuurders van België Association of Cinema Directors of Belgium VOZA Verenigde Onafhankelijke Zalen te Antwerpen en Agglomeratie United Independent Cinemas of Antwerp and Agglomeration, a group of exhibitors in the early 1970s, operating independently and in direct competition from Heylen If I would switch out the lights in my cinemas, Antwerp dies. 1 2 monopoly position in the 1960s. He kept his powerful position-which stretched far beyond the city of Antwerp-up until his downfall in 1993. Until the 2000s, Antwerp's cinema history was primarily written by non-academics. 5 This abounded in a number of overviews and reflections that are rich in historical details and anecdotes, largely based on personal collections, newspaper articles and personal interviews. A first thorough scholarly analysis of Antwerp's cinema history was done within the framework of the large-scale research project "The 'Enlightened' City: Screen Culture between Ideology, Economics and Experience. A Study on the Social Role of Film Exhibition and Film Consumption in Flanders (1895-2004) in Interaction with Modernity and Urbanisation". 6 In his chapter titled "Antwerpen 'Kinemastad'. Een kroniek van honderd jaar bioscoopcultuur" ("Antwerp 'Cinema City'. A chronicle of a hundred years of cinema culture"), which is part of an edited volume presenting the results of this project, Gert Willems sketched an overview of 100 years cinema history in Antwerp (1907 to 2007), also paying attention to Heylen's rise and fall as a cinema entrepreneur and his meaning for local film exhibition. 7 5 See as the most prominent examples C.
This article reflects upon a series of historical audience research projects on the social experi... more This article reflects upon a series of historical audience research projects on the social experience of cinema-going and the issue of social distinction. Concentrating on the difficulties related to doing historical media audience research, this article proposes a multimethod perspective around qualitative audience approaches (using oral history inspired ethnographic methods) in combination with methods coming from political economy, sociogeography, and programming analysis. The article first looks at different paradigms and approaches on historical audience research within film studies, with a special focus on oral history. The second part consists of a concrete case study on historical cinema-going audiences in Flanders, Belgium, where we argue that the social practice of cinema-going was a significant social routine, strongly inspired by community identity formation, class and social distinction.
Film audiences, genre and social class: A historical research on film culture and class in post-war Belgium
… Research and Education …, 2008
Disruption of library services 07/11-30/11 All library services will move to a new datacenter dur... more Disruption of library services 07/11-30/11 All library services will move to a new datacenter during the month of November. During this move many library services will be disturbed. Read more information on our library homepage. Sorry for any inconveniences.
Final report of the Digifil project (CLARIAH, 2018) that aimed at automatically extracting, digit... more Final report of the Digifil project (CLARIAH, 2018) that aimed at automatically extracting, digitizing and publishing film screening data from the weekly films listings published in historical newspapers.
Bringing the Multiplex to Antwerp: A Battle of Two Giants
TMG Journal for Media History
This article investigates the introduction of the first multiplex in Antwerp, Belgium. Within Eur... more This article investigates the introduction of the first multiplex in Antwerp, Belgium. Within Europe, Belgium has traditionally been a leader in multiplex developments. Despite Antwerp’s powerful position in terms of national film exhibition and distribution, the city’s first multiplex arrived relatively late. By investigating the struggles of two major exhibitors in the late 1980s and early 1990s, this case of Antwerp connects to findings for other countries (particularly the UK and the US) concerning the effect of multiplexes on local exhibition structures and cinemagoing practices. In addition, it demonstrates how the specific time and location of the introduction of the city’s first multiplex were dictated by the particularities of the local exhibition market, including its structure, its economic and political key players and its integration into the city’s urban infrastructure.
Negotiating cinema’s modernity: strategies of control and audience experiences of cinema in Belgium, 1930s-1960s
... case studies / Maltby, D. [edit.]; et al.; 2011). Citizen Heylen : opkomst en bloei van het R... more ... case studies / Maltby, D. [edit.]; et al.; 2011). Citizen Heylen : opkomst en bloei van het Rex-concern binnen de Antwepse bioscoopsector (1950-1975). Lotze, Kathleen;Meers, Philippe (Tijdschrift voor mediageschiedenis; 2010). ...
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