In photogénie’s year-long study of Cinematic Essences, the third issue continues to explore the infinite conundrum of cinema. This time, compromise allows us to consider what endangers and comprises the non-negotiable center of any film project.
Compromise is often inherent to the studio system and state filmmaking. But how do personal, social and political considerations lead a filmmaker to make concessions? How do filmmakers reckon with themselves to generate, produce and finesse a work of cinema? In documentary and docufiction, questions like these—about the nature of compromise—offer portals to access truth and meaning. On the festival circuit, they reveal the components that make a film intelligible to audiences.
A returning concept within aesthetic form, political theory and production history, compromise also opens up reflections on narrative. Which alternative cinematic worlds have been envisaged and discarded by filmmakers? Which films have never been realized because the trade-off loomed too large, asked too much, and harmed the integrity of an idea? To these queries, we ask for a response.
We are looking for energetic, well-researched writing that excites as much as it informs the reader. Rather than holding writers to academic constraints, we are interested in publishing intuitive, direct essays, which dive straight into film form and the textures of cinema.
Wordcount: 1,500 – 2,000
Fee: €225
The deadline to submit pitches is 14th August. We will tell you if your pitch has been accepted by 20th August. Please email editorialboard@photogenie.be with your pitch and two writing samples.
We welcome any questions, and we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the publication before tailoring your pitch.