Film and Place in an Intercultural Perspective

The book offers an interdisciplinary overview of the film and place relationship from an intercultural perspective. It explores the complex domain of place and space in cinema and the film industry's role in establishing cultural connections and economic cooperation between India and Europe.

With contributions from leading international scholars, various case studies scrutinise European and Indian contexts, exploring both the established and emerging locations. The book extends the dominantly Britain-oriented focus on India’s cinema presence in Europe to European countries such as Italy, Switzerland, Poland, Slovenia, Finland, and Sweden, where the Indian film industry progressively expands its presence. The chapters of this book look at Indian film production in Europe as a cultural bridge between India and Europe, fostering mutual understanding of the culture and society of the two regions.

This interdisciplinary book will be of interest to researchers in film studies, cultural anthropology, cultural geography, tourism, economics, sociology, and cultural studies. It will also be interest to practitioners working in local authorities, destination management, tourism, and creative business, all of whom see the value of film production in attracting visitors, investment, and creating new networks with local economic actors. The book offers much-needed data and tools to translate their professional goals and potentials into effective regional strategies and activities.

Krzysztof Stachowiak, PhD, is a professor of economic geography at the Faculty of Human Geography and Planning, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland. His research focuses on the creative economy (the role of culture and the creative sector in the economic development of cities and regions), creative cities, economic and spatial mechanisms of the creative industries (in particular the film industry), knowledge-based economy (innovative regions, clusters), the geography of film, and audiovisual media. He is the author of numerous publications on the creative economy and the role of the creative sector in developing cities and regions. His latest work includes papers on "The rise of film production locations and specialised film services in European semi-peripheries" and "Innovation dynamics in the film industry: The case of the Soho cluster". He is an executive editor of the journal Quaestiones Geographicae.

Hania Janta, PhD, is an associate researcher and project coordinator of the EU-India Platform-funded "FilmInd – The Indian Film Industries as a driver of new socio-economic connections between India and Europe" project at the Department of Social Sciences, University of Basel. Previously, she worked as a lecturer/senior lecturer at Bournemouth University, School of Tourism, and as senior lecturer at the University of Surrey, School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. Her research interests include labour and human capital issues as well as contemporary forms of mobility. She has published peer-reviewed papers and co-edited special issues in a range of journals. Her latest co-edited book (with Andriotis and Stylidis): "Tourism Planning and Development in Eastern Europe" was published in 2022. She is an evaluator and expert Reviewer for the European Commission and various National Science Foundation bodies.

Jani Kozina, PhD, is a research associate at the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU) and an assistant professor of cultural and economic geography at the Postgraduate School ZRC SAZU. He has also been a visiting researcher at the Cardiff Metropolitan University, School of Management. He is a holder of Diploma of Excellence for the Black Sea – Danubian Social & Economic Innovator, Under the aegis of the European Commission – DG MARE (2019) and a recipient of Special Mention of the Jury at the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Award (2015). He has (co)authored several articles and books on the role of creative economy, cultural and creative industries, and the creative class in urban and regional development. He is a member of several editorial boards and professional associations. He was a guest editor of the Special issue: Green creative environments at the scholarly journal Acta Geographica Slovenica.

Therese Sunngren-Granlund holds a Master of Arts degree in Entrepreneurship in the Arts, and currently works as a research manager at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Novia University of Applied Sciences in Jakobstad, Finland. In this capacity, she is responsible for overseeing the faculty’s project portfolio, which encompasses about 25 EU-funded and nationally projects. Throughout her involvement in various projects, Sunngren-Granlund has cultivated comprehensive expertise in strategic development pertaining to the creative industries, as well as regional development and place branding in rural areas. Most recently as principal investigator for the research project “The impact of cultural and educational investments in society”. Prior to her current position, Sunngren-Granlund worked as a professional artist, participating in multiple exhibitions held in locations such as Helsinki, Bergen, Stockholm, Ljubljana, Berlin, Montescaglioso, Como, and Milan. Furthermore, she holds a certificate from the Artists’ Research Laboratory XIV CSAV, where she had the opportunity to collaborate with the visiting professor and artist Yona Friedman.