Environmentalism beyond man-made borders: an exploration of eco-cinematic narratives through a transnational framework

Cinema has long been examined through a range of critical frameworks, including historical, social, psychological, gender, and class-based perspectives. However, by the mid-1990s, film scholarship experienced an environmental turn, situating a broader spectrum of cinematic texts within an ecocritical framework and giving rise to the emerging field of ecocinema. This article investigates this rapidly evolving genre through a transnational lens, proposing that ecocinema – and its modes of production, distribution, and exhibition – is deeply intertwined with the history of transnational exchanges. The study addresses a significant gap in scholarship concerning the intersection of ecocritical and transnational film studies, emphasizing the potential outcomes of their convergence. Employing a cultural exchange framework, the article draws parallels and interconnections between these two developing areas. Through this exploration, this article aims to put forward an extensive canon based on the key characteristics of transnationalism that will be used to examine the ways in which eco-cinematic narratives use cultural exchange components i.e. geographical space, and key personnel to reach a wider audience.