Maria Papadopoulou’s scientific contributions

This book is about the birth of a new, dynamic and innovative cultural phenomenon - associated with a generation of talented Greek filmmakers and independent film producers - and the conditions that fostered its emergence in 2009. The New Wave or “Greek Weird Wave” (as it was originally named by the Press), despite emanating from a period of domestic economic and social hardship, managed, not only to attract attention beyond Greece and become critically acclaimed at international festivals, but also to catch the eye of the media, researchers and cultural managers globally. Is it, indeed, a New Wave in contemporary Greek cinema? Which factors contributed to/or favored its emergence? How did the critical and scientific discourse affect the cultural evaluation and the legitimization of this new wave in the art world? In what way did certain marketing practices and strategies contribute to its development and promotion? To this end, a collection of Greek and foreign journalistic and scientific texts, as well as, a study of marketing media practices for selected films published between January 2009 and September 2016, has been collated and examined. The analysis is based on a combination of qualitative research methods; such as, discourse analysis, content analysis, visual analysis and semiotics. Previous research in the field of the sociology of culture and film studies has proved that the legitimization of cultural products and movements occurs, within a complex framework of intermediary factors, between the cultural creators and the audience. This book takes it a step further, to prove, through a thorough and extensive study, that the contribution of critical and scientific discourse, when combined with well-orchestrated marketing practices, can have an enormous impact in the cultural evaluation, legitimization and promotion of a cultural product in the cinema world.

New age media platforms have for long been embraced in film marketing activities as new means to reach an audience, build product awareness and create audience anticipation. However, current research on transmedia film marketing concerns mainly Hollywood film products destined to a wide audience and orchestrated by colossal marketing firms. In this article, all four new age media marketing activities represent low budget European films that attempt to exploit the new opportunities offered in the new digital environment. Our analysis reveals how in the case of independent film marketing the use of transmedia activities builds new narratives that adds to the story and communicate the key values of the film. However, in order to establish a deeper interactive relationship between film directors, producers and their niche audiences, a clear understanding of the targeted audience’s online behavioural pattern should be considered in the marketing actions design and implementation.