A Star Is Born: Cinematic Reflections on Stardom and the ‘Stardom Film
Friday 13 September 2013
King’s College London
http://stardomfilm.wordpress.com/

This conference addresses an overlooked area in the expanding fields of stardom and performance studies – namely films ‘about’ stardom.

The topic of ‘stardom films’ enables new and productive dialogue between different historical, national and generic contexts of stardom, and has particular potential for wider reflection on the cinematic medium. Films about filmmaking are often revered within the film studies canon for their self-reflexive exposure of the creative process. By privileging film stars (rather than directors) and the representation, construction and narratives of stardom, this conference will examine ways in which filmmakers have self-consciously addressed the importance of stardom – thereby engaging in star studies themselves.

The conference will bring together keynote speeches from Prof Rachel Dwyer (SOAS, Univ. of London) and Prof Mandy Merck (Royal Holloway, Univ. of London) and papers engaging with a diverse range of historical, national and generic contexts.

The conference is organised by Kulraj Phullar and Olga Kourelou, research students in the Film Studies Department, King’s College London.