Leen Engelen // Movies in disguise
Movies in Disguise. A cultural history of the art and industry of the Belgian movie poster
Looking at literature on the history of film advertising, film culture and cinema-going, it is surprising that hardly any attention is paid to the historical study of film posters. Film posters have long been the primary means of film advertising, used to sell not only films but also specific lifestyles and ideology. Mostly film posters are ordered by local distributors and designed and produced by local artists and printers for the announcement of movies made elsewhere (e.g. Hollywood). While selling the same movies worldwide, film posters’ style differs greatly in different areas, countries and time frames. They thus need to be studied in their historical and local context. As stated by Sam Sarowitz, collector and author of Translating Hollywood (2009), “the films appear behind unfamiliar faces, dressed up, as it were, in native costumes for the different countries they happen to visit”. Belgium makes a particularly interesting case because of the recognizable visual style of the posters, the particular structure of the small-scale film industry and the heavy reliance of the exhibition sector on foreign (mainly American and French) films. There is another argument to undertake this research. Looking at movies posters today, they have lost nothing of their appeal. Made to win patrons in their days, they still seduce us today. So far, this project resulted in an exhibition on the Belgian film poster and cinema going in Leuven (Cinema Leuven – OPEK Leuven, Feb. 16 – March 31, 2012) and the publication of an illustrated book: Cinema Leuven. Een studie naar de Belgische filmaffiches aan de hand van de collectie van het Leuvens Stadsarchief. The book can be ordered online (18euro) at the Erfgoedcel Leuven.
More information: Leen.engelen@khlim.be