World Cinema

This publication resulted from a project of the British Film Institute (bfi). The aim was to emphasize that cinema takes a number of different forms, fulfills a variety of roles within different societies, and has different models of its social function. Toward this end, film-makers from all over the world were invited to write a diary about the work they were doing on one day, Thursday, June 10, 1993. More than 1,000 individuals kept a diary on that day. Of these, 420 entries were selected for this publication. The entries reflect not just what happens when a film is being made, but also, report on all stages of the production cycle and what happens afterwards. The entries are organized under 25 chapters: (1) "Hollywood Marks the Day"; (2) "From Pens to PC's: The Writing Stage"; (3) "Art of the Pitch: Getting the Project Off the Ground"; (4) "Cast Away: In Pre-Production"; (5) "Scouting Locations"; (6) "Action! The Shooting Phase"; (7) "Mix and Match: In Post Production"; (8) "Marketing the Product"; (9) "Opening Night: The Screening Process"; (10) "The Festival Circuit"; (11) "Shuttle Diplomacy: The Producers"; (12) "Help Me If You Can: Funding and Administration"; (13) "From Stars to Stand-Ins: The Actors"; (14) "Behind the Cameras"; (15) "The Cutting Edge? The Censors"; (16) "Reading Between the Lines: Journalists and Critics"; (17) "The Animators"; (18) "The Documentarists"; (19) "Surviving Against the Odds"; (20) "Preserving the Legacy: Archives and Memorabilia"; (21) "Opening Eyes and Minds: The Study of Film"; (22) "Getting Together"; (23) "Waiting and Watching: The Next Assignment"; (24) "Frustrations, Tensions, and the Whole Damned Thing"; and (25) "Passing Thoughts." Twenty color and 300 black and white photographs augment the text. The work is indexed and concludes with a list of all those who kept a diary for this collaborative effort. (MM)