The New Cinema The New Cinema Magazine is an annual publication founded in 2009 first as an online venture but finally released in a printed format in 2010. It’s released yearly during and at the Cannes Film Festival as well as distributed world wide via a network of specialty bookstores, museums and select media outlets. The printed version is supplemented by an online blog providing a platform for debate and exchange of ideas where readers can contribute and be part of the conversation. With a no nonsense approach the magazine may mark a reaction against contemporary film journalism, deemed too insular and remote from the industry and its practitioners. Instead, TNC is based on the premise that cinema is a constantly evolving media redefined by each generation; it argues that journalism should actively contribute to this process of re-definition. Rather than reflective critiques, TNC is structured around a sequence of conversations with members of the industry. The dialogic approach conveys the magazine’s ambitions for journalism, in which writers and filmmakers engage and influence each other equitably. With a zeitgeist quality that seemed similar to the Cahiers Du Cinema of the fifties TNC may not be a new concept as such but maybe a needed revival of something that may have been lost. In keeping with these ideals, the topics discussed are geared to support filmmakers and stimulate artistic work. These range from abstract, philosophical explorations of cinema itself, to the more practical issues of finding work. For instance, Issue One features an interview with David Lynch who theorizes over the “ideas” underlying cinema and an interview with Luc Moullet who is asked to define “cinema”. Yet this same issue also dedicates space to more pragmatic problems: an interview with Paz de la Huerta asking how she prepares for auditions and kills time when out of work; an interview with a New York talent agent (Rachel Sheedy) which focuses on the content of her job and identifies the best ways to elicit attention from scouts. This journalism-as-activism approach is used to benefit followers of cinema in a range of ways; while hoping to influence the way cinema is conceived on a general level, TNC also devotes itself to helping cinema get made. Style The founding principle that cinema is a work in progress and that “every generation of filmmaker is responsible for the cinema of his time” informs all areas of the magazine’s structure and aesthetics . The layout is paired down and minimalist, with bold headers. This recalls an older generation of periodicals and even some contemporary newspapers. Suggested here is TNC refusal to offer a total and finished product. Instead, it gives open-ended contributions, delivered in the midst of a developing historical moment. These contributions are to be thought provoking and progressed further by its readership. Indeed, the final pages of the magazine are dedicated to ‘Notes’, actively inviting the reader to finish the construction of the magazine.
Similarly, within the magazine’s content one will find disagreements and contradictions between those interviewed (Heurta supports improvisation in cinema, while Lynch fervently disavows such methods). Again, importance is placed on the notion of dialogue. The magazine is arranged so that conversation flows in multiple directions. Dialogue exists between interviewer and interviewee, but also between the articles themselves, allowing different ideas, originating from different corners of the field, to be compared and set off against each other. The magazine plays host to lively debate rather than reaching definitive answer or predominant argument. The manifesto Though TNC is progressive, seeking new directions for cinema, it also suggests that cinema can only be understood and developed by placing it in the context of its own history. The magazine opens with a quotation from Serge Daney, thus situating its own contribution within the context of previous traditions of cinematic criticism. It’s manifesto is reminiscent of the modernist era’s avant garde and radical magazines. Yet, the manifesto’s concluding affirmation (“ he that makes shitty films hates mankind”) provides a new parody of this . TNC suggests that history must be investigated and incorporated into any modern aesthetic if the offering is to be of worth. Thus, TNC refers to filmmakers and artistic pieces spanning all cultures and periods while commenting on contemporary work. Cinema is viewed through the broadest possible lens, paying heed to some obscure and fringe contributions. Indeed, many of the interviews are collected in different countries at different points in time, lending an eclectic and expansive feel to the magazine’s very composition. Issue One Issue One features interviews from: Mariel Hemingway (actress) David Lynch (director) Paz de la Huerta (actress) Lukas Haas (actor) Peter Deming (director of photography) Luc Moullet (filmmaker and critic) Rachel Sheedy (talen agent) Juliane Lorenz (editor) Jan Harlen (producer)