Film, History and WWII

Going to war, 1939-45: Film, history and the Second World War

22-23 October 2010

From the IHR website...
"The Second World War remains the most filmed historical
phenomenon of modern times. Neither cinemagoers nor film
producers seem to tire of epic battles at sea, on land and in the
air, heroic POW adventures, and dramas set on the Home Front.
The world at war at mid-century is a defining moment in our
modernity, and film has become one of the main media through
which we locate ourselves in relation to the recent past.
But the Second World War was also the heyday of cinemagoing in
societies throughout Europe and North America, and the war itself
brought about major changes in the technologies and uses of film,
from the amateur camera to the official government newsreel and short.
So the role of film in war needs to sit alongside our understanding of the
representation of war in film. With this aim in mind the latest
IHR Winter Conference has assembled a distinguished cast of film directors
and film historians to discuss, debate and view the war on screen."

The full conference programme is available here.