Ginette Vincendeau (born 1948) is a French-born British-based academic who is a professor of
film studies
Film studies is an academic discipline that deals with various theoretical, historical, and critical approaches to cinema as an art form and a medium. It is sometimes subsumed within media studies and is often compared to television studies.
...
at
King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
.
Early life and education
Vincendeau was educated at the
Lycée Lamartine and
Lycée Sophie Germain in Paris, and the
University of Paris III: Sorbonne Nouvelle, gaining a degree in English language and literature. She taught French in schools in the UK and at the
University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...
, before completing a doctorate in
film studies
Film studies is an academic discipline that deals with various theoretical, historical, and critical approaches to cinema as an art form and a medium. It is sometimes subsumed within media studies and is often compared to television studies.
...
, supervised by
Thomas Elsaesser
Thomas Elsaesser (22 June 1943 – 4 December 2019) was a German film historian and professor of Film and Television Studies at the University of Amsterdam. He was also the writer and director of ''The Sun Island'', a documentary essay film abou ...
.
Career
While in Norwich, she initiated and co-organised the
Norwich Women’s Film Weekend. Before assuming her post at King's, Vincendeau was Professor of Film Studies at
University of Warwick
The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands (county), West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded i ...
.
Vincendeau is a regular contributor to ''
Sight & Sound
''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...
'' magazine and the feminist site ''le genre et l’écran''. She contributes essays to many DVDs of French films, in particular for
Arrow Films
Arrow Films is a British independent film distributor and restorer specialising in world cinema, arthouse, horror and classic films. It sells Ultra HD Blu-rays, Blu-rays and DVDs online, and also operates its own subscription video on-dema ...
,
BFI
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
and
The Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cinep ...
. She has written widely about European, and especially French cinema, specialising in popular genres and stars. In 1998, she was awarded the title of Chevalier de l’
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...
by the French Ministry of Culture, for services to French culture. She is currently co-chief general editor of the journal ''French Screen Studies''. She has been called one of the "key figures within the field who have been leaders in research and teaching of French cinema".
Publications
Monographs
* ''Anatomie d’un mythe: Jean Gabin'' (with Claude Gauteur), Paris: Nathan, 1993, 225 pp. Re-edited in 2006.
* ''The Companion to French Cinema'', London: Cassell/BFI, 1996, 202 pp.
* ''Pépé le Moko'', BFI Film Classics, London: BFI, 1998, 78 pp.
* ''Stars and Stardom in French Cinema'', London and New York: Continuum, 2000, 275 pp. Reprinted in 2005.
* ''Jean-Pierre Melville, 'An American in Paris'', London: BFI, 2003, 278 pp.
* ''La Haine'', London: I.B. Tauris, 2005, 118 pp.
* ''Les stars et le star-système en France'', Paris: L’Harmattan, 2008 (updated and enlarged French edition of ''Stars and Stardom in French Cinema'').
* ''Brigitte Bardot'', London: Palgrave/Macmillan, 2013.
* ''Brigitte Bardot, The Life, The Films, The Legend'', London: Carlton, 2014 (published in French as ''Brigitte Bardot'', Paris: Gründ, 2014).
Edited and co-edited books
* ''City Cinemas'', Norwich: Cinema City, 1978.
* ''Les Cinéastes allemands en France, les années 30'' (with
Thomas Elsaesser
Thomas Elsaesser (22 June 1943 – 4 December 2019) was a German film historian and professor of Film and Television Studies at the University of Amsterdam. He was also the writer and director of ''The Sun Island'', a documentary essay film abou ...
), Paris: Institut Goethe, 1982, 29 pp.
* ''La Vie est à nous! French Cinema of the Popular Front 1935-38'' (with Keith Reader), London: BFI, 1986, 109 pp.
* ''French Film, Texts and Contexts'' (with Susan Hayward), London and New York: Routledge, 1990, 309 pp. Selected for “Outstanding Academic List”, ''Choice'', May 1991.
* ''Popular European Cinema'' (with
Richard Dyer
Richard Dyer (born 1945) is an English academic who held a professorship in the Department of Film Studies at King's College London. Specialising in cinema (particularly Italian cinema), queer theory, and the relationship between entertainment ...
), London and New York: Routledge, 1992, 270 pp.
* ''20 ans de théories féministes sur le cinéma, Grande-Bretagne et Etats-Unis'' (with Bérénice Reynaud), CinémAction 67, CinémAction- Corlet, 1993, 200 pp.
* ''The Encyclopedia of European Cinema'', London: Cassell/BFI, 1995, 475 pp.
* ''French Film, Texts and Contexts'' (with Susan Hayward); Second Edition (revised and expanded), London and New York: Routledge, 2000, 348 pp.
* ''Film/Literature/Heritage, A "Sight and Sound" Reader'', London: BFI, 2001, 300 pp.
* ''Journeys of Desire, European Actors in Hollywood'' (co-edited with Alastair Phillips), London: BFI, 2006.
* ''The French New Wave, Critical Landmarks'' (co-edited with
Peter Graham), London: BFI, 2009.
* ''A Companion to Jean Renoir'' (co-edited with Alastair Phillips), Wiley-Blackwell: 2013.
* ''Paris in the Cinema: Beyond the Flâneur'' (co-edited with Alastair Phillips), London: BFI/Palgrave-Macmillan, 2017.
References
External links
Le genre et l'écran
Ginette Vincendeau's page on the King's College London websiteHow the French birthed film noir, by Ginette Vincendeau (on the BFI web page)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vincendeau, Ginette
1948 births
Living people
Academics of King's College London
Alumni of the University of East Anglia
British film critics
British women film critics
French women film critics
French emigrants to England
French film critics
University of Paris alumni