Writing a Decentred and Entangled History of Cinema-Going
28-30 November 2023, Paris
Daniela Treveri Gennari, Lies Van de Vijver and Pierluigi Ercole presented the paper “How Minor Are the Minor Cinemas? Methodological Challenges on the ‘Decentred’ Venues Across 1950s Europe” at the International Conference at the Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac in Paris.
The paper focused for the first time on the minor venues in the ECA cinema typology from the perspective of the characteristics of the venues themselves, their programming strategies and the memories our ECA respondents have of the minor venues. The preliminary conclusion indicated that the minor venues were not minor in characteristics or reputation. They were important; from an industrial perspectives, as they are high in numbers in most cities in our project; from a programming perspective, as they show a much higher (and varied) film programme, a very distinct programming, or a “specialized repertoire” as one of the participants remembers it; and from an audience’s perspective, as they are remembered as the venues closest to their heart, where they feel at home but they can also begin to explore, be rebellious and socialise.
