In our first issue of 2007, we offer a wide range of essays. Carl Freedman goes head to head with the popular image of John Wayne, Adrian Martin takes a good look at Dennis Hopper as a leading man, Jasper Sharp digs deeper into the forgotten roots of Japanimation (see also FI#21), Michael Fitzhenry and Xualian Zhang discuss the new independent cinema between Hollywood and China, and we present the first winning essay of the annual Frank Capra Award for undergraduate film criticism. (Stay tuned for the honorable mentions to make appearances on this very website.) Plus: Film reviews! Festival reports! And more!

(Full list of contents after the jump.)

Attention contributors: these are the latest Film International style guides. Please read them carefully. The first one is FI specific, the second one contains general guidelines as oulined by Intellect, our worldwide publisher and distributor.

(Read more, and download the style guides, after the jump.)

Attention American readers! As a serious first attempt to bring Film International to US stores, our upcoming issue (FI #25) will be distributed (in limited numbers) to various Barnes & Noble bookshops across the country. If you are able, please support FI and pick up an issue. Good sales of this issue will help us further establish our presence in America. FI #24 was similarly distributed in Canada, with great success.

As you may already be aware from browsing this website, and FI Issue 23, Film International has recently taken up a partnership with a UK-based organisation, Compass: Film International. This organisation was established in 2006 with the aim of providing greater access to underrepresented areas of international visual culture, and to encourage a vibrant and lively debate around film through exhibition and festival events. Over the past year we have acted as the intellectual resource for their premiere festival, held between October 28 – November 9 in Bristol - 'The Compass of Horror' – advising on speakers, programming and offering other expert resources (further information about the 2006 event can be found at www.compass-film.co.uk).

Film International and Compass share a similar aim for film culture. Both encourage the promotion of critical discussion on all aspects of moving image culture and aim to provide a bridge between the academy and popular film audiences.

We at Film International wish to contribute significantly also to the 2007 festival, which is why we want to approach our community of contributors with this informal 'call for ideas'.

(Read more after the jump.)

Reviled or celebrated, ‘realism’ has been a contested quality throughout the history of film. Today, after a couple of decades of postmodern anti-realism, the will to critically examine reality is growing stronger again as is evident by fiction films such as Syriana or The Constant Gardener as well as in the wave of documentaries that has accompanied the rise of the global justice movement and the ‘war on terror’. This issue of Film International is devoted to the theme of ‘Cinema, Reality & Realism’.

(Read more after the jump.)

There are now three easy ways to subscribe to Film International - one for US/Canada, one for Sweden, and one for the UK and the rest of the world. Just choose the most convenient alternative for you, and sign up today! We really appreciate your support.

Next weekend the FI staff will travel to Bristol to attend the finale of Compass: Film International, a festival event set up by our sister organization in the UK. This information unfortunately comes a bit late, for which we apologize, but if you're in the Bristol area - or anywhere else in the UK, even - we highly recommend checking out the event, which is sure to be exciting for all.

(Read more after the jump.)

Available now - Film International #23. John Orr traces the European roots of Californian film noir, Robin Wood sets his sights on André Téchiné's Wild Reeds, Dina Iordanova recounts a clash of film festivals, Anna Cabak Rédei does a cultural semiotical study of Greta Garbo in Ninotchka, and we interview French director Laurent Cantet. And more! Plus: DVD and book reviews.

Available now - Film International #22. A special issue devoted to American philosopher Stanley Cavell. Guest Editor Jeffrey Crouse presents six essays informed by Cavell's teachings. Plus: DVD reviews, book reviews, and festival reports from Göteborg, Créteil, Udine and Cannes.

Available now - Film International #21. Articles, essays and interviews on everything from Brokeback Mountain to Ginger Snaps. We dig deep into the phenomenon that is Dennis Hopper, highlight the forgotten roots of Japanimation, dissect Patrice Chéreau's visions of death, and file festival reports from around the world, including Miami, Nepal, and London.