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Rapidly shifting landscapes : two case studies in the UK distribution and exhibition of Chinese language films in the twenty-first century (2020)
Book Chapter

This chapter considers the shifting industrial patterns of distributing and exhibiting Chinese-language films in the UK in the twenty-first century. Drawing upon their experiences as film curators, Willis and Elliott provide a detailed analysis of tw... Read More about Rapidly shifting landscapes : two case studies in the UK distribution and exhibition of Chinese language films in the twenty-first century.

Steven Spielberg and the rise of the celebrity film director (2017)
Book Chapter
Fairclough, K., & Willis, A. (2017). Steven Spielberg and the rise of the celebrity film director. In N. Morris (Ed.), A Companion to Steven Spielberg (466-478). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118726747.ch26

This chapter looks at Steven Spielberg's career at different stages, considering how it can be read as emblematic of the rise of what might be termed the celebrity director. By the early 1970s, when a new young generation of directors found their way... Read More about Steven Spielberg and the rise of the celebrity film director.

'Crossing Hennessy', 'Big Blue Lake' and 'Flowing Stories': Re-centring the local in recent Hong Kong Cinema (2016)
Book Chapter
Willis, A. (2016). 'Crossing Hennessy', 'Big Blue Lake' and 'Flowing Stories': Re-centring the local in recent Hong Kong Cinema. In F. Chan, & A. Willis (Eds.), Chinese Cinemas : International Perspectives (84-95). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315691893-7

A number of observers of the Hong Kong film industry have identified and discussed the seemingly inexorable drift of major Hong Kong creative talents towards the perceived riches and box office rewards on offer in mainland China. At the same time as... Read More about 'Crossing Hennessy', 'Big Blue Lake' and 'Flowing Stories': Re-centring the local in recent Hong Kong Cinema.

East asian film stars (2014)
Book

East Asian Film Stars brings together some of the world's leading cinema scholars to offer their insights into the work of regional and transnational screen legends, contemporary superstars and mysterious cult personas. This collection of original es... Read More about East asian film stars.

Neo-Noir: The cultural significance (and insignificance) of a film style (2013)
Journal Article
Willis, A. (2013). Neo-Noir: The cultural significance (and insignificance) of a film style. Film International, 11(5), 31-37

A critique is presented of the films "Hustle" directed by Robert Aldrich and "Night Moves" directed by Arthur Penn, focusing on the films' relation to American film noir from the 1940s and 1950s. The social and political aspects of films, social chan... Read More about Neo-Noir: The cultural significance (and insignificance) of a film style.

Articulating British Chinese experiences on-screen: 'soursweet' and 'ping pong' (2012)
Journal Article
Chan, F., & Willis, A. (2012). Articulating British Chinese experiences on-screen: 'soursweet' and 'ping pong'. Journal of Chinese Cinemas, 6(1), 27-39. https://doi.org/10.1386/jcc.6.1.27_1

The notion of the Sinophone according to Shu-mei Shih attempts takes the delineation of Chinese identities out of ethno-geographic boundaries into linguistic communities. In the case of Chinese cinemas, the emphasis on linguistic communities fails to... Read More about Articulating British Chinese experiences on-screen: 'soursweet' and 'ping pong'.