Reflecting anxieties during the first twenty years of the twenty-first century: Three European cinematic waves

Abstract

The article lays out the only three European cinematic waves that emerged in the first twenty years of the twenty-first century and examines them in relation to their sociopolitical context. The way in which these particular contexts have influenced the production of the films, the thematic and aesthetic explorations of the filmmakers and their presence within the wider cinematic spectrum is detailed in the analysis. The New French Extremity, the Romanian New Wave and the Greek Weird Wave are thus considered as significant manifestations of anxieties and concerns relating to the particular historical moment in each respective country.