Alternative Europe

Whether defined by the comic excesses of Spanish director Alex de la Iglesia, the cult horrors of Black Emanuelle and the Italian 'Nunspolitation' movie, or the surreal vampire experimentations of Jean Rollin, trash and exploitation cinema represents the alternative face of European film. Although extremely popular with post-war audiences, these historically significant traditions of 'Eurotrash' have often been ridiculed or ignored by an established film criticism eager to define 'legitimate' European cinema as either avant-garde or socially realist. Alternative Europe: Eurotrash and Exploitation Cinema Since 1945 investigates these previously under-explored national traditions of film culture, with essays and festival reports uncovering the social and cultural trends and tensions within a wide range of European exploitation movies.