Film came to the territory that eventually became Israel not long after the medium was born. Casting a Giant Shadow is a collection of articles that embraces the notion of transnationalism to consider the limits of what is "Israeli" within Israeli cinema. As the State of Israel developed, so did its film industries. Moving beyond the early films of the Yishuv, which focused on the creation of national identity, the industry and its transnational ties became more important as filmmakers and film stars migrated out and foreign films, filmmakers, and actors came to Israel to take advantage of high-quality production values and talent. This volume, edited by Rachel Harris and Dan Chyutin, uses the idea of transnationalism to challenge the concept of a singular definition of Israeli cinema. Casting a Giant Shadow offers a new understanding of how cinema has operated artistically and structurally in terms of funding, distribution, and reception. The result is a thorough investigation of the complex structure of the transnational and its impact on national specificity when considered on the global stage.

Film came to the territory that eventually became Israel not long after the medium was born. Casting a Giant Shadow is a collection of articles that embraces the notion of transnationalism to consider the limits of what is "Israeli" within Israeli cinema. As the State of Israel developed, so did its film industries. Moving beyond the early films of the Yishuv, which focused on the creation of national identity, the industry and its transnational ties became more important as filmmakers and film stars migrated out and foreign films, filmmakers, and actors came to Israel to take advantage of high-quality production values and talent. This volume, edited by Rachel Harris and Dan Chyutin, uses the idea of transnationalism to challenge the concept of a singular definition of Israeli cinema. Casting a Giant Shadow offers a new understanding of how cinema has operated artistically and structurally in terms of funding, distribution, and reception. The result is a thorough investigation of the complex structure of the transnational and its impact on national specificity when considered on the global stage.

Nonfiction films about sports have been around for decades, but few scholarly articles have been published on sports documentaries. In Identity and Myth in Sports Documentaries, editors Zachary Ingle and David Sutera have assembled a collection of essays that look at the ways in which identity-national, religious, ethnic, racial, etc.-and myth are constructed, perpetuated, or questioned in documentaries produced in the United States, France, Australia, Germany, and Japan. This volume is divided into three sections: American Identity and Myth contains essays on consumerism, religion in sports, and post-9/11 America. The second section, Race and Ethnicity, examines the ways in which African-American, Mexican-American, and Jewish identity are portrayed in the documentaries under discussion. Global Perspectives includes essays about films and TV series produced outside of the United States or that provide perspectives on the international sport scene. Spanning several decades, the landmark sports documentaries discussed in this volume include Hoop Dreams, The Endless Summer, The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg, Olympia, and Tokyo Olympiad.Sports covered in these films include baseball, football, basketball, boxing, soccer, surfing, and the Olympics. Essays in this volume pose such questions as: How are notions of the American dream involved in athletes' aspirations? How do media texts from Australia or France construct Australian and French identity, respectively? How did filmmakers such as Leni Riefenstahl, Kon Ichikawa, and Bud Greenspan infuse their Olympic documentaries with their own national ideology, despite the films also being intended for international audience consumption? By tackling those subjects, the essays in this collection make Identity and Myth in Sports Documentaries an intriguing read for scholars, students, and the general public.

Nonfiction films about sports have been around for decades, but the previously neglected subgenre of the documentary has become increasing popular in the last several years. Despite recent successes such as Senna, Undefeated, and ESPN's 30 for 30 series, however, few scholarly articles have been published on sports documentaries. In Gender and Genre in Sports Documentaries, editors Zachary Ingle and David Sutera have assembled a collection of essays that look at the various aspects of this art form. Some of the essays examine questions of gender and sexuality, specifically how masculinity and homosexuality are represented in sports documentaries. Other chapters focus on the characteristics of the sports documentary, exploring how aspects of aesthetics and narrative shape the form. Besides chapters on basketball, football, baseball, boxing, tennis, and auto racing documentaries, this volume also features essays on such marginalized sports as quad rugby, pro wrestling, live action role playing (LARPing), and bodybuilding. Some of the films examined will be familiar to readers, such as Murderball and Bigger Stronger Faster.Other films discussed here may be less well-known, but they are nonetheless important works worthy of scrutiny. Questions about gender, sexuality, and masculinity remain hot topics in sports discourse, both popularly and in the academy, and this collection tackles those subjects, making Gender and Genre in Sports Documentaries an intriguing read for scholars, students, and the general public.

"I can make a big-looking movie for very little money by just being resourceful, being creative, using the rubber band versus a lot of technology, and not being ashamed about it." Rogue filmmaker Robert Rodriguez (b. 1968) rocketed to fame with his ultra-low-budget film El Mariachi (1992). The Spanish-language action film, and the making-of book that accompanied it, were inspirational to filmmakers trying to work with meager resources. Rodriguez embodies the postmodern auteur, maintaining a firm control of his projects by not only writing and producing his films, but also editing, shooting, composing, as well as working with the visual effects. He was one of the first American filmmakers to adopt digital filmmaking, now the norm. Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003) helped bring back 3-D to mainstream theatres. He is as comfortable creating family films (the Spy Kids series) as action (Sin City) and horror films (Planet Terror). He has maintained his guerilla filmmaking approach, despite increasing budgets, choosing to work outside of Hollywood and even founding his own studio (Troublemaker Studios) in Austin, Texas. He has also arguably become the most successful Latino filmmaker. In this, the first book devoted to Rodriguez, interviews and articles from 1993 to 2010 reveal a filmmaker passionate about making films on his own terms. He addresses the subjects central to his life and work--guerilla filmmaking, the digital revolution, his family, and his disdain for Hollywood. An easy and frank subject, Rodriguez in these portraits is the rebel director at his most candid, forging a path for others to break free from Hollywood hegemony. Zachary Ingle, Lawrence, Kansas, is a Ph.D. student in film and media studies at the University of Kansas. His work has been published in Literature/Film Quarterly and Journal of American Culture.

Rogue filmmaker Robert Rodriguez (b. 1968) rocketed to fame with his ultra-low-budget film "El Mariachi" (1992). The Spanish-language action film, and the making-of book that accompanied it, were inspirational to filmmakers trying to work with the most meager of resources. Rodriguez embodies the postmodern auteur, maintaining a firm control of his projects by not only writing and producing his films, but also editing, shooting, composing, as well as working with the visual effects. He was one of the first American filmmakers to wholeheartedly adopt digital filmmaking, now the norm. "Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over" (2003) helped bring back 3-D to mainstream theatres. He is as comfortable making family films (the "Spy Kids" series) as action ("Sin City") and horror films ("Planet Terror"). He has maintained his guerilla filmmaking approach, despite increasing budgets, choosing to work outside of Hollywood and even founding his own studio (Troublemaker Studios) in Austin, Texas. He has also arguably become the most successful Latino filmmaker.In this, the first book devoted to Rodriguez, interviews and articles from 1993 to 2010 reveal a filmmaker passionate about making films on his own terms. He addresses the subjects central to his life and work: guerilla filmmaking, the digital revolution, his family, and his disdain for Hollywood. An easy and frank subject, these portraits depict the rebel director at his most candid, forging a path for others to break free from Hollywood hegemony.