The Public Life of Cinema

"This book is unique in its emphasis on the film festival as a 'public thing' that not only convenes publics but generates debate about how ideally to be a public and what the nature of public-ness is. It is also a timely look at cultural production in a hotspot of political and economic turmoil over neoliberal austerity."--Karen Strassler, author of Demanding Images: Democracy, Mediation, and the Image-Event in Indonesia

"The central concerns of the book--What is public culture? Is there a role for the arts at times of crisis? What may arise from conflict?--will speak to anyone interested in the fate of the cultural field at times of neoliberal governance."--Marijke de Valck, cofounder of the Film Festival Research Network and coeditor of the book Art and Activism in the Age of Systemic Crisis: Aesthetic Resilience