'This book carves out a vital space at the intersection of contemporary LGBTQ and Transnational film studies. It is equally important as a document of the translatability and border-crossing qualities essential to European cultures. Perriam and Waldron demonstrate brilliantly how tastes, values, desires and fantasies are mobilised through films for different LGBTQ audiences, but this is not all. Their intervention is critical because it comes at a time when the very idea of Europe is in jeopardy, and they subtly remind us that the study of film festivals and audiences can throw light on what is shared and what desires and values produced in one linguistic area can mean for another.' Nuria Triana Toribio, Professor of Hispanic Studies, University of Kent Advancing the current state of film audience research and of our knowledge of sexuality in transnational contexts, French and Spanish Queer Film analyses how French LGBTQ films are seen in Spain and Spanish ones in France. Studying films from various genres, the book examines their reception across four languages (Spanish, French, Catalan, English) and engages with participants across a range of digital and physical audience locations. With a particular focus on LGBTQ festivals and on issues relating to LGBTQ experience in both countries, the authors consider issues such as ageing, sense of community and isolation, and the representation of issues affecting trans people. Examining films that chronicle the local (in portraying national and subnational identities) while also addressing foreign audiences, the book draws on a wide sample of individual responses through post-screening questionnaires and focus groups, as well as drawing on the work of professional film critics and online commentators. Chris Perriam is Professor of Hispanic Studies at the University of Manchester. Darren Waldron is Senior Lecturer in French Screen Studies at the University of Manchester. Cover image: photograph by Darren Waldron. Graphic image for Mostra FIRE!! in Barcelona 2014, created by Gregorio Soria. Cover design: Clifford Hayes [EUP logo] edinburghuniversitypress.com
Chris Perriam has worked as Professor of Hispanic Studies at the University of Manchester since 2004. He researches and teaches in the areas of Spanish Cultural Studies and Screen Studies and has a special interest in queer culture in Spain, France and Britain.