World cinema is a term used primarily in English language speaking countries to refer to the films and film industries of non-English speaking countries (those outside of the Anglosphere). It is therefore often used interchangeably with the term Foreign film. However, both World cinema and Foreign film could be taken to refer to the films of all countries other than one's own, regardless of native language. The term African cinema usually refers to the film production in countries in Sub-Saharan Africa following formal independence, which for many countries happened in the 1960s. ... Asian cinema refers to the film industries and films produced in the continent of Asia. ... East Asian cinema (sometimes called Far Eastern cinema, Eastern cinema, Asian cinema or Oriental cinema) is a term used to refer to the film industry and films produced in, and/or by natives of, East Asia. ... South Asian cinema refers to the cinema of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives. ... Southeast Asian cinema refers to the film industry and films produced in, and/or by natives of, Southeast Asia. ... West Asian cinema refers collectively to the film output and film industries of the West Asia. ... Australasian cinema refers collectively to the film output and film industries of Australasia. ... The cinema of Europe has, compared to the cinema of the United States, the reputation of being more liberal when it comes to the representation of nudity and sexuality but less liberal when it comes to the depiction of violence. ... North American cinema refers collectively to the film output and film industries of North America. ... Latin American cinema refers collectively to the film output and film industries of Latin America. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... “Moving picture” redirects here. ... Cinema admissions in 1995 The film industry consists of the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking: i. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Technically, foreign film does not mean the same as foreign language film, but the inference, particularly in the U.S., is that a foreign film is not only foreign in terms of the country of production, but also in terms of the language used. As such, the use of the term foreign film for films produced in the UK, Australia, Canada or other English speaking countries would be uncommon.

In other English speaking countries, it would be extremely unlikely to class films made in the U.S. as foreign films, or belonging to World cinema, as American films are reasonably dominant in all English-language markets.

World cinema has an un-official implication of films with "artistic value" as opposed to "Hollywood commercialism." Foreign language films are often grouped with "Art House films" and other independent films in DVD stores, cinema listings etc. Unless dubbed into one's native language, foreign language films played in English speaking regions usually have English subtitles. Few films of this kind receive more than a limited release and many are never played in major cinemas. As such the marketing, popularity and gross takings for these films are usually markedly less than for typical Hollywood blockbusters. The combination of subtitles and minimal exposure adds to the notion that "World Cinema" has an inferred artistic prestige or intelligence, which may discourage less sophisticated viewers. Additionally, differences in cultural style and tone between foreign and domestic films affects attendance at cinemas and DVD sales. U.S. theatrical release poster for German New Wave director Werner Herzogs 1973 drama Aguirre: The Wrath of God An art film (also called an “art cinema”, “art movie”, or in the US, an independent film or “art house film”) is a typically serious, noncommercial, independently made film that... An independent film, or indie film, is usually a low-budget film that is produced by a small movie studio. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Closed captioning. ... Blockbuster, as applied to film or theater, denotes a very popular and/or successful production. ...

Foreign language films can be commercial, low brow or B-movies, so to automatically assume that World cinema is "arty" or intellectual is erroneous. Furthermore, foreign language films can cross cultural boundaries, particularly when the visual spectacle and style is sufficient to overcome people's misgivings. Films of this ilk are becoming more common, and recent examples such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ,Amelie and Brotherhood of the Wolf enjoyed great success in Western cinemas and DVD sales. The first foreign language film to top the North American box office was Hero in the fall of 2004. Low culture is a derogatory term for some forms of popular culture. ... The term B-movie originally referred to a film designed to be distributed as the lower half of a double feature, often a genre film featuring cowboys, gangsters or vampires. ... Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) is a Chinese-language wuxia (chivalric and martial arts) 2000 Academy Award winning film. ... Released in 2001, Le Fabuleux Destin dAm lie Poulain (The Fabulous Destiny of Am lie Poulain), or Am lie, as it is known in the English-speaking world, is a quirky French romantic comedy, or a modern fairy tale, starring Audrey Tautou. ... Brotherhood of the Wolf (original French title Le Pacte des loups) was a 2001 movie directed by Christophe Gans, starring Samuel Le Bihan, Vincent Cassel, Monica Bellucci and Mark Dacascos, and written by Gans and Stéphane Cabel. ... The term box office can refer to either: A place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to a venue The amount of business a particular production, such as a movie or theatre show, does. ... Hero (Chinese: 英雄; pinyin: ) is a film first released in China on October 24, 2002. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Cinema by continent and country

World cinema on DVD

Foreign language films that are particularly successful in international markets may be taken on by the large film distribution companies for DVD releases. At the other end of the scale, many foreign language films are never given a DVD release outside of their home markets. With the enormous number of films produced across the world every year, this is hardly surprising. A Film distributor is an independent company, a subsidiary company or occasionally an individual, which acts as the final agent between a film production company or some intermediary agent, and a film exhibitor, to the end of securing placement of the producers film on the exhibitors screen. ... Size comparison: A 12 cm Sony DVD+RW and a 19 cm Dixon Ticonderoga pencil. ...

The majority of those DVDs that are given an international release, come out on specialist labels. These labels include:

• Arrow Films Label specialising in foreign language and cult English language films
• Artificial Eye (USA and UK)
• Axiom Films
• British Film Institute
• Contender Entertainment Group - Label that owns the sub-labels Hong Kong Legends (specialising in films from Hong Kong) and Premier Asia (specialising in films from the rest of East Asia, particularly Japan, South Korea and Thailand). CEG bought out the label Medusa in 2005.
• The Criterion Collection
• Dragon Dynasty (USA) - label specialising in films from East Asia.
• Eastern Heroes - European label specialising in films from East Asia. Eastern Heroes sold off many of their titles to Medusa (before it was bought out by Contender Entertainment Group) and Soulblade in the early 2000s.
• Facets Multimedia (USA)
• Kino International (USA) - Label distributing foreign language, arthouse and silent films.
• Manga Entertainment (USA and UK) - Label specialising in anime.
• Masters of Cinema
• Optimum Releasing (UK) - Distributor of foreign and English language films in the UK.
• Second Run (UK)
• Soda Pictures
• Soulblade (UK)
• Studio Canal (France)
• Tartan Films (USA and UK) - Label distributing a variety of foreign and English language films, though primarily East Asian films. The company consists of Tartan Video in the UK and Tartan Films USA, as well as the Tartan Asia Extreme and Tartan Terror horror labels.

Arrow Films is a European distributor of classic and cult films on PAL-format DVDs. ... The British Film Institute (BFI) is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to encourage the development of the arts of film, television and the moving image throughout the United Kingdom, to promote their use as a record of contemporary life and manners, to promote education about film, television and... The Criterion Collection logo The Criterion Collection is a privately held company that distributes authoritative consumer versions of important classic and contemporary films on DVD. It was established in 1984 as a joint venture between Janus Films and the Voyager Company. ... Dragon Dynasty is a joint venture started by Bob and Harvey Weinstein of The Weinstein Company and Genius Products. ... Kino International is a film and video distributor, based in New York City that specializes in art-house films, such as low-budget current films and classic films from earlier periods in the history of cinema. ... Manga Entertainment is a licensor and distributor of Japanese animation (anime) in the United States and United Kingdom. ... “Animé” redirects here. ... Masters of Cinema is a line of classic and contemporary films on DVD and a website dedicated to the most well-regarded film directors in the world. ... Optimum Releasing is a film distribution company working in the UK The company releases many film, but is perhaps best known for its Anime releases, including the contract to release all Studio Ghibli films in the UK http://www. ... Soda Pictures is a UK based film distributor of art house, independent and world cinema. ... StudioCanal (aka Le Studio Canal, Canal Plus, Canal + Distribution, and Canal+ Image S.A.), is a French-based production and distribution company that owns the third-largest film library in the world. ... Tartan Films, established in 1982, is a United Kingdom-based film distributor. ... East Asia Geographic East Asia. ... Horror Movie redirects here. ...

World cinema television channels

• World Cinema HD (USA)
• World Movies (Australia)
• Cinemundi (UK, launching 2007)

World Cinema HD is a Movie Channel that broadcasts exclusively in High definition. ... World Movies is an Australian cable channel that broadcasts foreign films, usually subtitled, on Foxtel, Austar, and Optus. ...

See also

• World Cinema Foundation
• Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
• César Award for Best Foreign Film
• History of film
• Sandeep Marwah producer of 1000 short films

World Cinema Foundation is a project founded in 2007 and aims at at finding and reconstructing world cinema films that have been long neglected. ... The Academy Award (Oscar) for Best Foreign Language Film is a yearly US award for the best film in a language other than English, released in the period October - September in the country of origin. ... César Award for Best Foreign Film: 1976: Scent of a Woman (Italy), directed by Dino Risi 1977: We All Loved Each Other So Much (Italy), directed by Ettore Scola 1978: A Special Day (Italy), directed by Ettore Scola 1979: The Tree with the Wooden Clogs (Italy), directed by Ermanno... Motion pictures developed gradually from a carnival novelty to one of the most important tools of communication and entertainment, and mass media in the 20th century. ...

External links

• Ethnographic and Foreign Film Society, Durham university
• European-films.net news, reviews and previews of recent and upcoming European films
• Acclaimed Foreign Films & Reviews
• MOViEmaven List online resource for world cinema and American independent films
• Tamil Movie Newsletter
• Arrow Films
• African Media Program Comprehensive database of African media
• Artificial Eye (USA) and Artificial Eye (UK)
• Axiom Films
• British Film Institute
• Contender Entertainment Group
• The Criterion Collection
• Dragon Dynasty
• Facets Multimedia
• Hong Kong Legends
• Kino on Video
• Manga Entertainment (USA) and Manga Entertainment (UK)
• Masters of Cinema
• Optimum Releasing
• Premier Asia
• AAFT
• Soda Pictures
• Tartan Video and Tartan Films USA
• Watch Movies' Portal to World Cinema
• World Cinema Releases