If you’re reading this in 2022 or early 2023……

This is the first edition of Contemporary World Cinema, and it’s a work in progress. I’ve created it to serve as the textbook for the University of Waterloo course World Cinema and Visual Culture, which I’m teaching in fall term 2022. During the semester I’ll be revising the course-specific material contained in this book, which means that some chapters, especially those related to the films we’ll be discussing in class, will go through a couple of iterations. If you’re a student in the course, you’ll be limited to the online version (though you can print up chapters on your own, if you wish, but keep in mind that what you print in September will have changed by October and again in November. The online version of the text will always be the most up-to-date version.

While you might find the instability of this “living text” a bit annoying, keep in mind that by revising the book in real time, I’ll be able to include insights that come from student commentary, class discussions, and the like, all of which will contribute to making this textbook a richer resource for students in the course, and others who may wish to use it in other courses. In 2023, I will finalize this version of the textbook, after which the page that you’re currently reading will be removed.