Luis Freijo Escudero

Thesis title:

De-Westernising the Western: Remapping Genre and Nation in World Cinema

Research Area

Languages and Literature

Publications

Articles in Journals

Stone, R. & Freijo, L. (2021) 'World Cinema Between the Rock of Unknowability and the Hard Place of the As Yet Unknown', Transnational Screens, 12 (1), pp. 1-22. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/25785273.2021.1873572
Freijo, L. (2021) 'Cinema Against Doublethink: Ethical Encounters With the Lost Pasts of World History, by David Martin-Jones', Studies in Spanish and Latin American Cinemas, vol 18, 2, pp. 243-246. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1386/slac_00052_5.

Chapters in Edited Books

Freijo, L. (2022) '"No One to Call Around Here. These Boys Is On Their Own": The Post-Industrial Frontier in Hell or High Water and the Western as a Landscape of Crisis', in Tarancón, J. and H. Loyo (2021) Screening the Crisis: U.S. Cinema and Social Change in the 21^st Century. London: Bloomsbury. In print.
Freijo, L. (2022) 'Two Speed Economic Systems and Bi-Polarity in the European Union: Frontier Spaces in Valeska Grisebach's Western', in Hayward, S. and G. Gergely (eds.) (2021) The Routledge Companion to European Cinema. London and New York: Routledge, pp. 335-344.
Freijo, L. (2021) 'Héroes Cansados, Familias Extrañas: Dibujando la masculinidad post-industrial en Old Man Logan', in Gracia Lana, J., A. Asión Suñer and L. Ruiz Cantera (eds.) (2021) Dibujando historias, más allá de la imagen. Zaragoza: Prensas de la Universidad de Zaragoza, pp. 463-467.
Freijo, L. (2021) 'Sense8 and the City: Frontier Cosmopolitanism', in Shaw, D. and R. Stone (eds) (2021) Sense8: Transcending Television. London: Bloomsbury, pp. 133-148.

Co-authored Books

Freijo, L., J. Iglesias, Pedrero Santos, J.A. (2022) El hombre que mató a Liberty Valance. Madrid: Notorious Ediciones.
Cabanelas, L., Díaz, V., Freijo, L., y Laborda Barceló, J. (2021) Pasión de los fuertes. Madrid: Notorious Ediciones.
Álamo, L., Freijo, L., Iglesias, J., Llácer, T., and Tello, L. (2021) El apartamento. Madrid: Notorious Ediciones.
Corral, J. M., Freijo, L., Sánchez, A., and Vallet, J. (2020) Los siete magníficos. Madrid: Notorious Ediciones.
Alfonso, R., Díaz, V., Freijo, L., Sánchez, A., y Vicente Echagüe, J. (2019) Alien. Madrid: Notorious Ediciones.
Alfonso, R., Casas, Q., Freijo, L., Iglesias, J., and Sánchez, A. (2019) Grupo Salvaje. Madrid: Notorious Ediciones.

Conferences

Azcona, M. M., and Freijo, L. (2022) 'Conversation on Film Genre', 2^nd University of Birmingham-University of Zaragoza Colloquium, 2 June.

Freijo, L. (2022) '"Where the Centuries Don't Follow One Another: Ritualising the Nation in Global Westerns', 5th Annual B-Film PGR Symposium, University of Birmingham, 20 April.

Freijo, L. (2021) ‘Borders Outside, Borders Within: European Citizenship and Neocolonialism in Valeska Grisebach’s Western’, 2nd University of Birmingham-University of Zaragoza Colloquium, 16 December.

Freijo, L. (2021) 'World Cinema Between the Rock of the Unknowable and the Hard Place of the As Yet Unknown', Society for Cinema and Media Studies: Special Interest Group Transnational Cinemas, 19 November.

Freijo, L. (2021) 'Professionalism and Employment in the Media', School of Media, Communication and Sociology, University of Leicester: 8 November.

Freijo, L. (2021) ‘”Let the Land Decide”: The World Cinema Western and the Language of Colonialism in Five Fingers for Marseilles’, B-Film Seminar Series 2021-2022. University of Birmingham: 21 October.

Freijo, L. (2021) ‘”I Am Also a We”: Sense8’s Aspiration to a Cosmopolitan Frontier’, SERCIA Conference. University of Zaragoza: 8-10 September.

Freijo, L. (2021) ‘El personaje en el Western global: Un enfoque narratológico’, Comunicación y Lenguajes Audiovisuales. University of Medellín: 31 August.

Freijo, L. (2021) 'De-Westernising the Western: Genre Under Erasure as a Methodology of Resistance in Jauja (Lisandro Alonso, 2014)', Screen Studies Conference 2021. University of Glasgow (online): 25-27 June.

Freijo, L. (2021) ‘The Nation in Transit: the Reconfiguration of Modern Spain through Migration in Luz de domingo (José Luis Garci, 2007)’, Necs Conference 2021: Transitions: Moving Images and Bodies. University of Palermo (online): 7-13 June.

Freijo, L. (2021) ‘Mediterranean Migrations: Transitory Identities in Italian and Spanish Cinema’, panel organiser, Necs Conference 2021: Transitions: Moving Images and Bodies. University of Palermo (online): 7-13 June.

Freijo, L. (2021) '"Where the Centuries Don't Follow One Another": Ritualising the Nation in Global Westerns', video-essay presented at the M4C Digital Research Festival, 7-10 June. Virtual Gallery: https://my.ltb.io/#/showcase/midlands4cities-digital-research-festival-2021/ Video-essay: https://vimeo.com/552848805.

Freijo, L. (2021) 'Cosmopolitanism at the Urban Frontier: Discussing a Glocal Sense8', 4th Annual B-Film PGR Symposium. University of Birmingham: 5 March.

Freijo, L. (2021) 'Unearthing the Colonial Ghosts of the Patagonian Western', B-Film PGR Seminars 2020-2021. University of Birmingham: 21 June.

Freijo, L. (2020) 'De-Westernising the Western: A Trailer', video-essay presented at the M4C Digital Research Festival, 13-14 July. Virtual Gallery: https://my.ltb.io/?fbclid=IwAR0Q3TZz01VCyLRXRwEjhia2h1q6eTFXVfByD8P4cBLt1axHZ6Dt4foP3z0#/showcase/midlands4cities-digital-research-festival-2020 Video-essay: https://vimeo.com/424506558.

Freijo, L. (2020) Member of the organising team of ‘World Cinema Summit: The Longitude and Latitude of World Cinema’, University of Birmingham, 4-5 June 2020. https://2020worldcinemasummit.wordpress.com/home/about/

Freijo, L. (2020) Organiser of the 3rd Annual B-Film PGR Symposium on Identities in Transnational Cinemas. University of Birmingham: 17 February.

Freijo, L. (2019) 'Héroes cansados, familias extrañas: Dibujando la masculinidad post-industrial en Old Man Logan', 2nd International Congress of Interdisciplinary Studies about Comics. University of Zaragoza: 15-17 May.

Freijo, L. (2019) Organiser of the 2nd Annual B-Film PGR Symposium on World Cinema. University of Birmingham: 15 March.

Freijo, L. (2018) 'A Gun of One´s Own. Gender Representation in Contemporary Westerns' [Poster]. Exhibited at 12th UoB Research Poster Conference. University of Birmingham: 13 June. Winner of Social Engagement Award.

Freijo, L. (2018) 'Slowness, Art Cinema, and Poetry in Contemporary Westerns. Toward a Definition of Slow Westerns", 1st B-Film PGR Symposium. University of Birmingham, 2 March.

Freijo, L. (2017) 'El Viñedo en Celuloide. Valores de Representación del Vino en Cine', Vino, letras y un par de besos callados: el viñedo en el paraíso, San Lorenzo del Escorial, Summer Course of Universidad Complutense de Madrid: 17-21 July.

Public Engagement & Impact

September 2021: Guest author signing books at the Notorious Ediciones marquee at the Book Fair of Madrid.
August 2021: Invited Guest in the radio show “La Claqueta” at Frecuencia U, the radio station associated to the University of Medellín in Colombia https://www.mixcloud.com/frecuencia_u/la-claqueta-2021-09-01-luis-freijomp3/
April 2020: Guest in the "Lockdown Movies" series of podcasts made by Screen Brum. https://brumradio.com/screen-brum-the-podcast/
March 2019: Guest in the radio show Screen Brum at Brum Radio for a special show about World Cinema Westerns. https://www.mixcloud.com/BrumRadio/screenbrum-taking-the-west-out-of-western-with-luis-frejio-2232019/
March 2018: Introduction of a screening of The Magnificent Ambersons at the Electric Cinema, Birmingham.
May 2016: Speaker in the tribute to Maximilian Schell celebrated in Casa del Lector del Matadero on the occasion of the release of a new DVD edition of his film 'Five-finger exercise'. Moderated by David Felipe Arranz and with Marta Fernández, Guillermo Balmori and Luis Miguel Rodríguez.

Other Research Interests

Westerns
Film Genre
Gender Studies
World Cinema Studies

Memberships

Department of Film and Creative Writing, University of Birmingham

B-Film: The Birmingham Centre for Film Studies

Professional experience

November 2021-April 2022: PG Film Studies Demonstrator at the Department of Film and Creative Writing at the University of Birmingham.

October 2021-June 2022: Teaching Associate at the Department of Film and Creative Writing at the University of Birmingham. Modules: Introduction to Film Studies: Styles and Forms (5 hours). Film Genre (17 hours).

January 2021-June 2021: Teaching Associate at the Department of Film and Creative Writing at the University of Birmingham. Modules: Film Genre (15 hours).

October 2019-November 2019: Postgraduate Teaching Assistant at the Department of Film and Creative Writing at the University of Birmingham. Modules: Studying Film A (4 hours); Film Theory and Criticism (6 hours).

July 2019: Visiting lecturer in the Birmingham International Summer School of Media, organised by the Department of Film and Creative Writing at the University of Birmingham, with the session 'Film Genre, World Cinema and the Western'.

March 2019-July 2019: Project Support Assistant with the University of Birmingham Graduate School in the organisation of the 14th University of Birmingham Research Poster Conference.

October 2018-Present: Research Assistant and member of the Management Committee of the research centre B-Film: The Birmingham Centre for Film Studies, attached to the Departments of Film and Creative Writing and Modern Languages at the University of Birmingham.

September 2018-June 2019: Contributor in the digital marketing company Syndicali as content writer.

September 2017-September 2018: Contributor in the Film section of Redbrick newspaper.

March 2017-July 2017: Contributor in the Culture section of the digital newspaper bez.es.

April 2016-Present: Panellist at the cultural radio show El Marcapáginas, hosted by David Felipe Arranz in Capital Radio.

September 2015-February 2017: Editor in the TV show 'Qué tiempo tan feliz', hosted by María Teresa Campos. Mandarina Productions, Mediaset.

June-August 2015: Intern editor in the TV show 'Qué tiempo tan feliz', hosted by María Teresa Campos. Mandarina Productions, Mediaset.

June 2015: Intern for Red Shoes Cultural Communication.

May 2014: Cameraman covering the National Female Basketball Championship (Junior Category) in Guadalajara, Spain.

May and June 2013: Cameraman covering the National Male Basketball Championship (Junior Category) and the National Female Basketball Championship (Youth Category) in Guadalajara, Spain.

February 2013-April 2017: Director and co-founder of the online cultural magazine Gran Imaginador.

http://www.granimaginador.es/

January 2013-October 2016: Co-founder, producer and editor of the radio show Jarra y Siete, in Radioenlace (Madrid).

http://www.ivoox.com/podcast-podcast-jarra-siete_sq_f158852_1.html

Other publications

Freijo, L. (2021) 'La jungla de asfalto', 'Dallas', 'Vorágine', in Balmori, G., and Alegrete, E. (eds.) (2021) Hollywood Años Dorados: 1940. Madrid: Notorious Ediciones.
Freijo, L. (2021) ‘Los gángsteres del aire’; ‘Engaño’; ‘Su propia víctima’, in Balmori, G., and Alegrete, E. (eds.) (2021) El universo de Bette Davis. Madrid: Notorious Ediciones.
Freijo, L. (2021) 'Camino de Santa Fe'; 'Mi mujer favorita', in Balmori, G., and Alegrete, E. (eds.) (2021) 1940. Madrid: Notorious Ediciones.
Freijo, L. (2020) 'La venganza de Frank James'; 'El secreto de Convict Lake'; in Balmori, G., and Alegrete, E. (eds.) (2020) El universo de Gene Tierney. Madrid: Notorious Ediciones.
Freijo, L. (2020) 'El baile de los malditos'; 'El desertor', in Balmori, G., and Alegre, E. (eds.) (2020) El universo de Montgomery Clift. Madrid: Notorious Ediciones.
Freijo, L. (2020) 'Amores de cine, amor por el cine: Cinema Paradiso', in Arranz, D. F. (2020) Amores de cine. Pasiones más allá de celuloide. Madrid: Sial Pigmalión, pp. 131-135.
Freijo, L. (2020) 'Y la nave va'; 'El jeque blanco', in Balmori, G., and Alegre, E. (eds.) (2020) El Universo de Federico Fellini. Madrid: Notorious Ediciones, pp. 110-115; 12-15.
Freijo, L. (2019) 'Veracruz'; 'Llegaron a Cordura', in Balmori, G. and Alegrete, E. (2019) El Universo de Gary Cooper. Madrid: Notorious Ediciones, pp. 312-317; 344-347.
Freijo, L. (2019) 'Don Juan en los Infiernos: La leyenda de amor canalla', in Arranz, D. F. (ed.) (2019) Amores canallas. Madrid: Sial Pigmalión, pp. 139-143.
Freijo, L. (2018) 'Rebellion'; 'Juvenile Court'; 'The Naked Zoo'; 'La ira de Dios' in Balmori, G. (ed.) (2018) El universo de Rita Hayworth. Madrid: Notorious Ediciones, pp. 32-35; 80-83; 282-285; 290-293.
Freijo, L. (2018) 'Hombres errantes', in Balmori, G., and Alegrete, E. (eds.) (2018) El universo de Nicholas Ray. Madrid: Notorious Ediciones.
Freijo, L. (2018) 'La carcoma'; 'En el jardín de las delicias'; 'Infiel', in Balmori, G., and Alegrete, E. (eds.) (2018) El universo de Ingmar Bergman. Madrid: Notorious Ediciones, pp. 146-149; 214-215; 222-223.
Freijo, L. (2018) 'A todas las Audreys que he amado', in Arranz, D. F., and Nieto Rodríguez, A. (eds.) (2018) Amores de ficción. Bendita Recompensa. Madrid: Sial Pigmalión, pp. 167-176.
Freijo, L. (2017) 'Ser o no ser'; 'El intrépido'; 'Hombres sin miedo'; 'Corazones indomables', in Balmori, G. and Alegrete, E. (eds) (2017) El universo de John Ford. Madrid: Notorious Ediciones, pp. 50-51; 74-75; 88-89; 174-177.
Freijo, L. (2017) 'Librepensando, libreleyendo y librescribiendo', prologue to Arranz, D. F. (2017) Escrito al raso. Artículos político-festivos (2007-2017). Madrid: Sial Pigmalión, pp. 13-20.
Freijo, L. (2017) 'Inmortal amor mortal', in Nieto Rodríguez, A. (ed.) (2017) Inmortal amor mortal. De la ceniza, la máscara. Madrid: Sial Pigmalión, pp. 243-249.