The Political Economy of Local Cinema: A Critical Introduction

The globalization and digitalization of cultural markets presents formidable challenges for local cinema and storytelling. The essays in this collection address some of these challenges from the perspective of a critical political economy of local cinema. Inspiring these contributions is the effort of supporting local cinema as a form of valuable storytelling that is at risk of market-driven extinction because of the greater commercial viability of global or Hollywood cinema and national cinema.

Anne Lill Rajala is a research assistant in the Media and Education in the Digital Age - MEDA research programme at Arcada University of Applied Sciences, Helsinki, Finland. She holds a bachelor degree in Culture and Arts (film & television) and is currently completing a master degree in social sciences (University of Helsinki) with communication as main discipline. Her BA thesis dealt with documentary film as a form of truth-telling and she continues exploring the topic further in her master thesis. Rajala has been involved in artistic productions for more than 15 years through e.g. theater, photography and filmmaking. Additionally Rajala has a strong passion for music, and pursues her artistic ambitions in the critically acclaimed theatrical metal band Lost in Grey.

Daniel Lindblom is a freelance journalist, screenwriter and a researcher. He holds a bachelor degree in Culture and Arts (film & television) and is currently completing a master program in journalism at University of Helsinki, Finland. He is research assistant in the programme Media and education in the Digital Age – MEDA, based at Arcada University of Applied Sciences in Helsinki. His research deals with local cinema, especially Finnish Swedish cinema, and local storytelling.

Matteo Stocchetti (PhD) is Docent in Political Communication at Åbo Academy, Docent in Media and Communication at the University of Helsinki and Principal Lecturer in Critical Media Analysis at Arcada University of Applied Sciences. He is the initiator and main coordinator of the program Media and Education in the Digital Age – MEDA. (https://rdi.arcada.fi/meda/en/). His main research interests include critical social theory applied to politics, education and the media.