Events
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Book Launch – Pipeline Cinema: The Cultural Infrastructure of Oil Extraction in Iran and Iraq – Mona Damluji
Talks:
March 6 @ 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm
Pipeline Cinema explores the intertwined histories of documentary film and the oil industry in mid-twentieth century Iran and Iraq. Reading against the grain of oil company archives, Mona Damluji reveals how wells, pipelines, pumping stations, and refineries were sites of cinematic production and exhibition, at once normalizing and challenging neocolonial extraction. Shining a light on cultural workers and labor movements, this book offers a distinctly humanistic lens on an otherwise dehumanizing petroleum industry.
Mona Damluji is Assistant Professor of Film and Media Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
The book launch will include a roundtable discussion featuring the author in conversation with Bishnupriya Ghosh (Global Studies, English), Sherene Seikaly (History), and Sanaz Sohrabi (filmmaker). A reception with light refreshments will follow.
This event is sponsored by the Center for Middle East Studies and the Department for Film and Media Studies.
Pipeline Cinema is now available as an open access publication or for purchase in paperback on the UC Press website. A limited number of paperback copies will be available for purchase at the event.