Since the publication of the first volume of Directory of World Cinema: China, the Chinese film industry has intensified its efforts to make inroads into the American market. The 2012 acquisition of US theatre chain AMC and visual effects house Digital Domain by Chinese firms testifies to the global ambitions of China’s powerhouse film industry. Yet Chinese cinema has had few crossover hits in recent years to match the success of such earlier films as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; House of Flying Daggers and Kung Fu Hustle. Yet even overseas revenue for Chinese movies has dwindled, domestic market growth has surged year after year. Indeed, annual production output remains healthy, and the daily expansion of screens in second-or third-tier cities attracts audiences whose tastes favour domestic films over foreign imports.

Building on and bringing up to date the material presented in the first instalment of Directory of World Cinema: Australia and New Zealand, this volume continues the exploration of the cinema produced in Australia and New Zealand since the beginning of the twentieth century. Among the additions to this volume are in-depth treatments of the locations that feature prominently in the countries’ cinema. Essays by leading critics and film scholars consider the significance of the outback and the beach in films, which are evoked as a liminal space in Long Weekend and a symbol of death in Heaven’s Burning, among other films. Other contributions turn the spotlight on previously unexplored genres and key filmmakers, including Jane Campion, Rolf de Heer, Charles Chauvel and Gillian Armstrong. Accompanying the critical essays in this volume are more than one hundred and fifty new film reviews, complemented by film stills and significantly expanded references for further study. From The Piano to Crocodile Dundee, Directory of World Cinema: Australia and New Zealand 2 completes this comprehensive treatment of a consistently fascinating national cinema.

Like its predecessors, Directory of World Cinema: Japan 3 endeavours to move scholarly criticism of Japanese film out of the academy and into the hands of cinephiles the world over. This volume will be warmly welcomed by those with an interest in Japanese cinema that extends beyond its established names to equally remarkable filmmakers who have yet to receive such rigorous attention.

Soviet and Russian filmmakers have traditionally had uneasy relationships to the concept of genre. This volume rewrites that history by spotlighting some genres not commonly associated with cinema in the region, including Cold War spy movies and science-fiction films; blockbusters and horror films; remakes and adventure films; and chernukha films and serials. Introductory essays establish key aspects of these genres, and directors’ biographies provide the background for the key players. Building on the work of its predecessor, which explored cinema from the time of the tsars to the Putin era, this book will be warmly received by the serious film scholar as well as all those who love Russian cinema. Directory of World Cinema: Russia 2 is an essential companion to the filmic legacy of one of the world’s most storied countries.

Promoting China's cultural soft power by disseminating modern Chinese values is one of the policies of President Xi Jinping. Although, it is usually understood as a top-down initiative, implemented willingly or unwillingly by writers, filmmakers, artists, and so on, and often manifesting itself in clumsy and awkward ways, for example, the concept of "the Chinese dream," intended to rival and perhaps appeal more strongly than "the American dream," modern Chinese values are in fact put forward in many ways by many different cultural actors. Through analyses of film festivals, CCTV, Confucius Institutes, auteurs, blockbusters, reality TV, and online digital cultures, this book exposes the limitations of China's officially promoted soft power in both conception and practice, and proposes a pluralistic approach to understanding Chinese soft power in local, regional, and transnational contexts. As such, the book demonstrates the limitations of existing theories of soft power, and argues that the US-derived concept of soft power can benefit from being examined from a China perspective.