Aims and Scope
Comparative Cinema (ISSN 2604-9821) is an open access publication that approaches cinema using a comparative methodology. It revives, to that end, critical traditions linked to comparative literature studies in order to propose a way of working with images that is catalyzed by the connection between two different objects. Jean-Luc Godard’s text The Cinémathèques and the history of cinema, included in the first volume of the journal, Projection/Montage, established the programmatic principle for this edition and the entire publication: through the programming of different cinematographic pieces (that is, their conjunction), it is possible to articulate connections that cause new meanings to emerge. Comparative film research analyzes the ways in which an image alludes to and leads us to think of other images (from the same film, from the history of film or from other areas) through montage and through the vision generated by the spectator in the screening. The monographic volumes of Comparative Cinema aim to explore how this comparative perspective can enrich film analysis, by considering both the mise-en-scène and the creation processes or the links between cinema and other arts.
For an article proposal to be accepted, it is essential that the starting point should be a comparison, and an explicit one at that. This comparison may refer to two images from the same cinematographic work, images from different works or a cinematographic image compared with a work from another artistic discipline (literature, painting, sculpture, theatre, etc.).
The journal is structured into monographic volumes and will accept proposals for articles, interviews (these may also be round tables) and audio-visual essays on the specified subject.
Comparative Cinema welcomes the proposal of thematic dossiers on any topic related to film analysis involving a comparative methodology. In this case, guest editors work together with the journal editors to publish the Call for Papers, to guide authors throughout the editorial process and to organise the final dossier. If you want to propose a dossier, you can write to comparativecinema@upf.edu.
Additionally, the miscellaneous section "Rear Window" includes articles that have no thematic bond to the proposed monographic issues. The reception of these submissions is carried out continuously throughout the year and the articles are published in subsequent issues of the journal, prior coordination with the editors.
Peer Review Process
Of the proposals that are received as a result of the Call for Papers (CFP), as well as those received for the miscellaneous section, Comparative Cinema will accept those that pass an initial editorial review. Once the article is submitted, the journal will confirm its reception, and the editors will review it within 15 days of the CFP closing date. This calendar also applies for texts sent to the miscellaneous section, as it determines the main workflow of the journal. If the editors deem the text relevant and it meets the guidelines outlined in the CFP and/or in the aims and scope of the journal, as well as the criteria of originality and academic rigor, the text is sent to two reviewers for evaluation using an evaluation form defined by the editorial team. Failure to meet these criteria will result in the editors rejecting the article without any external intervention.
Following a positive first editorial decision, the article will be submitted to a process of blind peer review by two specialists on the topic proposed by the editors or guest editors. During the assessment process, the identity of both author/s and reviewer/s will remain anonymous. Each reviewer will receive a form with important aspects to consider and they will provide, within a period of 4 weeks, a written commentary, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the article, also indicating its main contributions and suggesting possible improvements.
If necessary, the reviewer may send a version of the text with comments or suggestions. The journal will not ask for an orthographical or grammatical correction of the text, but the reviewer will be able to make suggestions and comments on these areas. If the reviewer were to attach a document, he/she must make sure his/her anonymity is preserved throughout the content and the metadata. The editors will carry out a final review in order to ensure no signs exist as to his/her identity in the text.
Finally, the reviewer will suggest one of the following options: to accept the article for publication, to accept it for publication with changes, or to reject it for publication. The reviewer may complete his/her assessment with additional comments to the editors.
Given its nature, the blind peer review is focused on the unbiased and constructive criticism of the pieces assigned, considering their academic contribution and literary quality. Because of this, the reviews must be undertaken with objectivity, without any personal criticism directed towards the authors. Comparative Cinema seeks to promote a constructive, respectful, and pedagogic review system, and will not tolerate any practice that does not honor that ethos. More on our ethical guidelines here.
The comments of both reviewers will be sent to the author, along with suggestions by the editors. These suggestions will give the author a series of guidelines in order to improve the article through its reviews, especially in cases in which these have proved contradictory. In no event will the reviewer’s comments be sent without a contribution by the editor.
The decision to publish an article (or not) will always remain the responsibility of the editors, though it will always be subsequent to the peer review process. An article with two negative reviews will never be accepted for its publication. An article with a positive review and a negative one, or one with two positive reviews may be either accepted or rejected. Furthermore, if an article receives one positive review and a negative one, the editors can seek the appraisal of a third reviewer. Based on the three reports, the editors will decide whether to publish the text.
The comments of the reviewers will be considered as contribution to the work of the authors and orientation for the editors, but with the exception of two negative reviews, they will not be considered prescriptive in nature.
If the reviewers and the editors suggest any changes, the author has a 4-week period in which to implement them. No articles that have been modified after reviews will be sent to the reviewer once more, instead it will be the editors who will make the final decision about its publication. In this phase, the article may still be rejected.
The review must be done according to the following criteria:
Does the proposed theme conform to the Call for Papers?
Are the ideas innovative, original and interesting?
Is the argumentation academically relevant, exposing in a broad and contrasted way the existing bibliography on the subject?
Is the comparative form (between films or between films and other works) key to the form and content of the text?
Is the text well structured, does it show thematic cohesion and organize the information in a coherent way?
Is the article written correctly, without spelling errors or grammatical errors?
Comparative Cinema recommends that its reviewers also evaluate articles in relation to their gender perspective and, in their absence, the possible need to incorporate sex/gender variables into the research proposal, methodological approach, analysis, and conclusions.
See our review form here.
See a list of our previous reviewers (2023-2024) here.
Publication Frequency
Comparative Cinema publishes two volumes per year.
Open Access Policy
Published under Creative Commons licence (Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International).
Comparative Cinema makes all its publications immediately available online, and is fully committed to open science.
Comparative Cinema does not charge any article submission or article processing fees.
Journal History
Comparative Cinema (ISSN 2604-9821) is a biannual publication published by the Center for Aesthetic Research on Audiovisual Media (CINEMA) of Pompeu Fabra University (UPF). It was founded in 2012 in order to grant continuity to the research studies of the group on comparative cinema, developed through the research projects Corrientes Estéticas del Audiovisual en el Contexto Europeo (CEACE, 2003-2006) and Observatorio del Cine Europeo Contemporáneo (OCEC, 2006-2012), as well as the conferences and publications derived from these: the four editions of the Congreso-Muestra Internacional de Cine Europeo Contemporáneo (CICEC-MICEC, 2005-2008) and the Congreso Internacional Mutaciones del Gesto en el Cine Europeo Contemporáneo (2012), on one hand, and the collective volumes Derivas del cine europeo contemporáneo (eds. Domènec Font and Carlos Losilla, 2007) and Poéticas del gesto en el cine europeo contemporáneo (eds. Fran Benavente and Glòria Salvadó Corretger, 2007) on the other.
Although published from 2012 to 2017 under the name Cinema Comparat/ive Cinema (ISSN 2014-8933), with a trilingual edition in Catalan, Spanish and English, the journal modified its designation from the issue number 11 onwards (2018) becoming Comparative Cinema (ISSN 2604-9821), published only in English, but including original texts in other languages. From issue number 22 (2024) onwards, the journal publishes texts either in English, Spanish or Catalan.
Since its inception, the journal has explored comparative methodology in order to tackle the connections between programming and montage, the relations between cinema and politics, the creation processes, mise-en-scène (with special emphasis on actors) and the links between film and other arts. To achieve this, the journal has worked with articles by international specialists, though it has also given particular importance to interviews and the re-publishing of documents.
Interoperability Protocol (RACO)
The RACO repository uses the interoperability protocol created by Open Archives Initiative (OAI) which allows to increase the visibility of the articles published in journals offering oneself together with other international repositories (for example OpenAire). Also, in order to increase the articles dissemination and consults, these are also available through University Union Catalogue of Catalonia (CCUC), and electronic resources databases (such as Ex-Libris and EBSCO).