Cinema and the City in the Age of Planetary Urbanization

Amid deepening ecological and democratic crises, urban theory is changing fundamentally. Film and cinema—media historically intertwined with the city—have likewise undergone a profound transformation in its modes of representation and visual culture since the late 1980s. Today, filmmakers, photographers, and radical artists investigate the distant landscapes and territories of extended urbanization in all its forms. Films like Behemoth (Zhao Liang, 2015), Homo Urbanus (Ila Bêka & Louise Lemoine, 2017), and Leviathan (Lucien Castaing-Taylor & Véréna Paravel, 2012) exemplify this genre. But how do cinema and the city mutually shape each other? This book stages an encounter between film and the theory of planetary urbanization by deploying the notion of the Sensoriums of Planetary Urbanization. It offers a deep analysis of the multifaceted experiences of urban life—within and beyond the city.

With contributions by Adam Jasper, Assel Kadyrkhanova, Mosè Cometta, Jacqueline Maurer, Lorenzo Tripodi, Sofie Stilling, Søren Nielsen and Hans Teerds, Fred Truniger, Anne Romme, Emil Hvelplund Kristiansen, Junia Cambraia Mortimer, Roberto Luís Monte-Mór, Rosa Barba, J.P. Sniadecki and Joshua Bonnetta, Christian Schmid, Ana Vaz, Hira Nabi, Chrystel Oloukoï, Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine

• Brings together contemporary visual culture with the transformative theory of planetary urbanization
• Features contributions from scholars, researchers, filmmakers, and practitioners
• Draws on various academic disciplines and creative practices including film, urban studies, geography, architecture, architectural history, and cultural studies