An Unmediated View of China? dGenerate Films and Transnational Distribution Companies as Sites of Cultural Translation

This research examines transnational film distribution companies’ roles in introducing Chinese independent documentary films into global marketplaces. Using the American-based dGenerate Films as a case study, I analyze how these companies function as cultural translators, bridging national cinema cultures and international audiences. This cultural translating is realized through dGenerate’s distribution practices, including its mediating roles, acquisition criteria, curatorial strategies, and market targeting. Along with complicating factors that underlie these efforts, such practices contribute substantially to the ways that a cinema culture from one country is presented, interpreted, and received by viewers in other countries and cultures.