South and East Asian Cinemas Across Borders

Book excerpt: This edited volume focuses on South and East Asian cinema, exploring transnational connections between these film industries from the point of view of narratives, topics and themes, as well as in terms of co-productions. At a time of resurgent nationalisms and increasing fortifications of (actual and symbolic) borders, the chapters in this book explore cinematic work that challenge these boundaries and promote a reflection on the social, cultural, political and economic value of international exchanges and collaborations within the context of Asia. Indeed, notwithstanding the aforementioned tendency to implement border policing and the revival of nationalist sentiments, South and East Asian cinemas retain a strong transnational character, as not only genres and themes are borrowed and exchanged across borders, but also the popularity of the Indian, Chinese and Korean film industries extend well beyond their national borders – within Asia as well as in the West. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Transnational Screens.