Mediating Cultural Encounters through
European Screens (MeCETES)
End-of-Year Workshop
Wednesday 17 September, 2014
Andromeda Hotel & Thalassa
Ostend, Belgium
Summary:
Mediating Cultural Encounters through European Screens (MeCETES) is a 3-year project, funded by Humanities in the
European Research Area (HERA), exploring contemporary European film and television drama. During this one-day
workshop the MeCETES team will present the findings of their first year of research to members of the MeCETES
Advisory Board and Associate Partners and discuss with them how this work could be developed over the year ahead.
Presentations will last approximately 20-30 minutes, followed by questions and discussion. Members of the Academic
Board and Associate Partners will be invited before the workshop to act as respondents for particular presentations.
09.30 – 10.00
Coffee / registration
10.00 – 10.30
Welcome / introductions
Andrew Higson, MeCETES Project Leader
10.30 – 11.30
A policy analysis of the EU’s MEDIA programme
Vrije Universiteit Brussel team
In this presentation the Brussels team will outline the results of their first core research
challenge. In particular, they will offer an evaluation of the EU’s MEDIA programme in
terms of its support for distribution in order to determine whether the scheme actually
empowered the cross-border circulation of European non-national audiovisual productions.
This will involve a policy analysis in combination with quantitative data from the LUMIERE
database and the MEDIA programme.
Respondent: Daniel Bilteryest
11.30 – 12.00
Coffee break
12.00 – 13.00
The circulation of European films in European markets
University of York team
In this presentation the York team will present some of their initial findings on film in
Europe. In particular, they will discuss which films travel well to other European countries,
how these represent other Europeans, and how audiences engage with such screen fictions,
based on their analysis of quantitative data from such sources as the LUMIERE database,
the BFI and the European Commission.
Respondent: Duncan Petrie
13.00 – 14.00
Lunch
14.00 – 15.00
Does history travel? Recent historical TV drama series in Europe
University of Copenhagen team
Historical drama on television is one of the major genres in most European countries and
very popular with national audiences. Historical drama speaks to and constructs imagined
communities on a national level, but some forms of historical drama also travel widely
within Europe, creating transnational audiences. Based on interviews with key figures behind
the production and distribution of selected recent series (e.g. Downton Abbey and 1864)
and analysis of their critical reception and audience data, the Copenhagen team presents
preliminary results from studies of British, Danish and Flemish historical dramas in a
national and European context.
Respondent: Milly Buonanno
15.00 – 15.30
Coffee break
15.30 – 16.30 Roundtable discussion: researching film and television audiences
One of the key aspects of the MeCETES project is to understand how audiences engage
with European film and television and the cultural encounters with other Europeans they
enable. Yet doing audience research presents many challenges, from accessing accurate
data, to interpreting findings which cut across different cultures. During this roundtable
discussion workshop participants will be invited to give their own perspective on how they
gather, interpret and make use of audience data.
16.30 – 17.00
Objectives for the year ahead
20.00
Dinner at the Royal North Sea Yacht Club
Workshop participants:
MeCETES Team:
Academic Advisory Board:
Andrew Higson, University of York
Caroline Pauwels, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Cecilie Astrupgaard, University of Copenhagen
Eva Novrup Redvall, University of Copenhagen
Fredrick Larsen, University of Copenhagen
Henrik Søndergaard, University of Copenhagen
Huw D Jones, University of York
Ib Bondebjerg, University of Copenhagen
Ilse Schooneknaep, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Rasmus Helles, University of Copenhagen
Roderik Smits, University of York
Signe Sophus Laid, University of Copenhagen
Tim Raats, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Daniel Biltereyst, Ghent University
Duncan Petrie, University of York
Hannah Andrews, University of York
Milly Buonanno, University of Roma “La Sapienza”
Philippe Meers, Universiteit Antwerpen
Tim Bergfelder, University of Southampton
Associate Partners:
Heidi Hermans, VRT
Henning Camre, EU Think Tank
Ingolf Gabold, Eyeworks
Petri Kemppinen, Nordic Film and TV Fund
Richard Paterson, British Film Institute
Other participants:
Jan Loisen, Vrije Universiteit Brussel