Dina Iordanova
Encyclopedia
Dina Iordanova is an educationalist and Professor of Film Studies at the University of St. Andrews. A specialist in world cinema
, her special expertise is in the cinema of the Balkans, Eastern Europe, and Europe in general. Her research approaches cinema on a meta-national level and focuses on the dynamics of transnational film; she has special interest in issues related to cinema at the periphery and in alternative historiography
. She has published extensively on international and transnational film art and film industry
, and convenes research networks on film festival
s and on the Dynamics of World Cinema, with funding from the Leverhulme Trust
.
, she read Philosophy and German and obtained her Doctorate under the guidance of Prof. Isaac Passy
in Aesthetics and cultural history at Kliment Okhridski University in Sofia
, in 1986. She worked at the Institute for Cultural Studies before emigrating to Canada in 1990. In emigration Iordanova lived and worked in Canada and the USA, later on settling in the UK in 1998 and becoming actively engaged in European networks and projects.
, a Rockefeller Fellowship at the Franke Institute for the Humanities
at the University of Chicago
, and at the University of Leicester
in England
. Her work is reviewed widely, translated in over fifteen languages and adopted for use in courses at over seventy Universities internationally. She has been a guest professor at the University of Chicago
, and served as Distinguished Visiting Professor at Queen Mary, University of London
.
Iordanova created the Film Studies programme at the University of St. Andrews, where she was appointed to the first Chair in Film in 2004 and engaged in a wide-ranging effort to modernize the University's portfolio, bringing the programme to an internationally respected status within a short time. She also founded the Centre for Film Studies, which she currently directs and was behind the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland
-funded initiative of the Scottish Consortium of Film and Visual Studies.
In 2010 Iordanova was appointed Provost
of St Leonard's College (University of St Andrews).
, and on the Cinema of Bulgaria
. Her work on transnational cinema includes the volume Cinema at the Periphery, work related to the representation of Romanies in international film, as well as on the representation of human trafficking
and other current social problems.
Since 2009 she has been publishing the series of Film Festival Yearbooks, which includes volumes on The Festival Circuit (with Ragan Rhyne), Film Festivals and Imagined Communities (with Ruby Cheung).
She writes the blog DinaView on topics related to world cinema, culture, technology and investing.
World cinema
World cinema is a term used primarily in English language speaking countries to refer to the films and film industries of non-English speaking countries. It is therefore often used interchangeably with the term foreign film...
, her special expertise is in the cinema of the Balkans, Eastern Europe, and Europe in general. Her research approaches cinema on a meta-national level and focuses on the dynamics of transnational film; she has special interest in issues related to cinema at the periphery and in alternative historiography
Historiography
Historiography refers either to the study of the history and methodology of history as a discipline, or to a body of historical work on a specialized topic...
. She has published extensively on international and transnational film art and film industry
Film industry
The film industry consists of the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking: i.e. film production companies, film studios, cinematography, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, post production, film festivals, distribution; and actors, film directors and other film crew...
, and convenes research networks on film festival
Film festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
s and on the Dynamics of World Cinema, with funding from the Leverhulme Trust
Leverhulme Trust
The Leverhulme Trust was established in 1925 under the will of the First Viscount Leverhulme, William Hesketh Lever, with the instruction that its resources should be used to support "scholarships for the purposes of research and education."...
.
Early life
Born in an intellectual family in communist BulgariaBulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, she read Philosophy and German and obtained her Doctorate under the guidance of Prof. Isaac Passy
Isaac Passy
Isaac Passy was a Bulgarian philosopher specializing in aesthetics. He was a professor at Sofia University from 1952 until 1993. He was the most prolific philosopher in the history of Bulgaria. He published over 40 monographs and over 80 volumes of the philosophical classics...
in Aesthetics and cultural history at Kliment Okhridski University in Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
, in 1986. She worked at the Institute for Cultural Studies before emigrating to Canada in 1990. In emigration Iordanova lived and worked in Canada and the USA, later on settling in the UK in 1998 and becoming actively engaged in European networks and projects.
Career
Prior to her arrival at St. Andrews, she held positions at the Radio-TV-Film department at the University of Texas at AustinAustin
Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas.Austin may also refer to:-In the United States:*Austin, Arkansas*Austin, Colorado*Austin, Chicago, Illinois*Austin, Indiana*Austin, Minnesota*Austin, Nevada*Austin, Oregon...
, a Rockefeller Fellowship at the Franke Institute for the Humanities
Franke Institute for the Humanities
The Franke Institute for the Humanities is located in Regenstein Library at the University of Chicago. It promotes sharp, rigorous scholarship in the humanities and social sciences by sponsoring research fellows, organizing talks, workshops, and conferences, and attracting participants from the...
at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, and at the University of Leicester
University of Leicester
The University of Leicester is a research-led university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is a mile south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park and Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College....
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Her work is reviewed widely, translated in over fifteen languages and adopted for use in courses at over seventy Universities internationally. She has been a guest professor at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, and served as Distinguished Visiting Professor at Queen Mary, University of London
Queen Mary, University of London
Queen Mary, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
.
Iordanova created the Film Studies programme at the University of St. Andrews, where she was appointed to the first Chair in Film in 2004 and engaged in a wide-ranging effort to modernize the University's portfolio, bringing the programme to an internationally respected status within a short time. She also founded the Centre for Film Studies, which she currently directs and was behind the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland
Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland
The Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland is a charitable trust established by Andrew Carnegie in 1901 for the benefit of the universities of Scotland, their students and their staff....
-funded initiative of the Scottish Consortium of Film and Visual Studies.
In 2010 Iordanova was appointed Provost
Provost (education)
A provost is the senior academic administrator at many institutions of higher education in the United States, Canada and Australia, the equivalent of a pro-vice-chancellor at some institutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland....
of St Leonard's College (University of St Andrews).
Works
Her book Cinema of Flames reviewed in over thirty journals, including Kinoeye, Screening the Past, Post Script, Europe-Asia Studies, and has been extensively discussed in various scholarly contexts. Cinema of the Other Europe, the 2003 monograph on the cinemas of Central Europe, was reviewed in Screening the Past, Film Quarterly, Kinema, and a range of other print journals. She has published monographs on director Emir KusturicaEmir Kusturica
Emir Nemanja Kusturica , is a Serbian filmmaker, actor and musician, recognized for several internationally acclaimed feature films...
, and on the Cinema of Bulgaria
Cinema of Bulgaria
-Actors and actresses:*Nikolay Binev*Stoyan Bachvarov*Rusi Chanev*Georgi Cherkelov*Stefan Danailov*Itzhak Fintzi*Georgi Georgiev*Kiril Gospodinov*Stanislav Ianevski*Georgi Kaloyanchev*Velko Kanev*Apostol Karamitev*Nevena Kokanova*Todor Kolev...
. Her work on transnational cinema includes the volume Cinema at the Periphery, work related to the representation of Romanies in international film, as well as on the representation of human trafficking
Human trafficking
Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...
and other current social problems.
Since 2009 she has been publishing the series of Film Festival Yearbooks, which includes volumes on The Festival Circuit (with Ragan Rhyne), Film Festivals and Imagined Communities (with Ruby Cheung).
She writes the blog DinaView on topics related to world cinema, culture, technology and investing.