Happy New Year! As we at FP enjoyed lots of movies over the holidays, we couldn’t help but think about how they connect to foreign policy—and what a country’s film industry reveals about its politics.
So, in this edition of Flash Points, we’re digging into our archives on the intersection of geopolitics and film industries worldwide, from the deserts of Western Sahara to Seoul’s IMAX theaters.—Chloe Hadavas
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The World’s Most Remote Film Festival
Deep in the Algerian desert, a Sahrawi-run event puts Western Sahara’s struggle for liberation on the big screen, Ariel Sophia Bardi writes.
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Hollywood Is Paying an ‘Abominable’ Price for China Access
A kid’s movie has turned into a geopolitical nightmare for DreamWorks, Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian writes.
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South Korea’s Film Rules Need a Reboot
The success of productions such as Squid Game and Parasite proves the industry can hold its own without excessive protectionism, Seoho Lee writes.
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Has Hollywood Fallen Out of Love With Israel?
A recent book examines the origins and end of an affair between the film industry and the Jewish state, Saul Austerlitz writes.
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‘Drive My Car’ Could Change Japanese Cinema Forever
The country’s film industry has struggled through ups and downs since the Golden Age of Japanese cinema in the 1950s and 1960s, Eric Margolis writes.