Toronto is a changing city that has been a source of reflection and inspiration to writers and artists whose work focuses on the conditions and prospects of human life. A city on the move, it demands policies and regulation, and it offers the pleasures and perils of the massive and the anonymous. As a site of study, the city is inherently multidisciplinary, with natural ties to history, geography, sociology, architecture, art history, literature and many other fields. World Film Locations: Toronto explores and reveals the relationship between the city and cinema using a predominately visual approach. The juxtaposition of the images used in combination with insightful essays helps to demonstrate the role that the city has played in a number of hit films, including Cinderella Man, American Psycho and X-Men and encourages the reader to frame an understanding of Toronto and the world around us. The contributors trace Toronto’s emergence as an international city and demonstrate the narrative interests that it has continued to inspire among filmmakers, both Canadian and international. With support from experts in Canadian studies, the book’s selection of films successfully shows the many facets of Toronto and also provides insider’s access to a number of sites that are often left out of scholarship on Toronto in films, such as the Toronto International Film Festival. The 2014 release of this attractive volume will be a particularly welcome addition to the international celebrations of the city’s 180th anniversary.

Havana is among the world’s leading cinematic locales. In films made beyond the island as well as those created by local cineastes, Havana is depicted as a vibrant Caribbean city. The quantity and quality of the works representing this tropical cityscape attest to the prominence of this film location and underscore the need for a book dedicated to it. World Film Locations: Havana situates Havana as a modern city in pre-Revolutionary times, noting the architectural and cultural shifts evident during the revolution, and comments on recent reconfigurations of the city and its inhabitants in the wake of global forces. Among the forty-six scene reviews chosen to show the city in all its multifaceted-glory, films such as Our Man in Havana, I Am Cuba, Hello Hemingway, Habana Blues and Chico and Rita are bookended by seven insightful essays. The essays look at the history of revolutionary cinema in Cuba and consider documentary films, from the Latin American Newsreel to avant-garde experimental work, including the island’s documentary tradition showcasing local faces and places that have paved the way for present-day media and audio-visual art. The essays also explore the multifaceted film culture of the capital, the cine club movement, historic cinemas and film venues around the city, the abundance of film festivals such as the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema and film-themed cafeterias, restaurants, bookstores and markets.

World Film Locations: Vancouver highlights the work of such Canadian filmmakers who have received less attention than they merit, whilst bringing insight into how so-called ‘runaway’ productions from Hollywood use Vancouver to stand in for other locations, from Seattle, USA to Lagos, Nigeria. Analyses of 38 different film scenes reveal the cinematic city in its myriad forms, while spotlight essays provide insight into the creativity and contradictions of Vancouver’s film industry throughout the ages. The essays examine the following topics: the masking of Vancouver’s indigenous stories in filmic representations of the city; Australian screenwriter James Clavell’s Vancouver-set debut The Sweet and the Bitter; Sylvia Spring’s Madeleine Is..., the first female-directed feature in Canada; Jonathan Kaplan’s The Accused, for which Jodie Foster won an Oscar; and, the use of Vancouver locations in a number of US television crime series. World Film Locations: Vancouver offers new perspectives on the west coast city and in doing so sheds further light upon the relationship between the movies and the metropolis.

"World Film Locations: Toronto explores and reveals the relationship between the city and cinema using a predominately visual approach. The juxtaposition of the images used in combination with insightful essays helps to demonstrate the role that the city has played in a number of hit films, including Cinderella Man, American Psycho, and X-Men and encourages the reader to frame an understanding of Toronto and the world around us. The contributors trace Toronto’s emergence as an international city and demonstrate the narrative interests that it has continued to inspire among filmmakers, both Canadian and international. With support from experts in Canadian studies, the book’s selection of films successfully shows the many facets of Toronto and also provides insider’s access to a number of sites that are often left out of scholarship on Toronto in films, such as the Toronto International Film Festival"--Publisher's description.

São Paulo is the largest city in South America and the powerhouse of Brazil’s economy. A multi-racial metropolis with a diverse population of Asian, Arabic and European immigrants as well as migrants from other parts of Brazil, it is a global city with international reach. Films set in São Paulo often replace the postcard images of beautiful tropical beaches and laid-back lifestyles with working environments and the search for better opportunities. Bikinis and flip flops give way to urban subcultures, sport, entertainment and artistic movements. The ability to transcend national boundaries, and its resistance to stereotypical images of an 'exotic' Brazil, make São Paulo a fascinating location in which to explore Brazil’s changing economic and cultural landscapes.

Florence, with its rich history, privileged place in the canon of Western art, and long-standing relationship with the moving image, is a cinematic city equal to Venice or Rome. World Film Locations: Florence explores the city as it is manifested in the minds of filmmakers and filmgoers. Contributors to the collection consider a wide range of topics, including the tourist’s perception of Florence, representations of art and artists on screen, the camera-friendly Tuscan countryside and mouthwatering local cuisine and filmic adaptations of canonical Italian literature. Through scene reviews of films, including Bobby Deerfield, A Room with a View, Tea with Mussolini and Under the Tuscan Sun, World Film Locations: Florence delves deeper into the makeup of the city, looking at both familiar and unfamiliar locations through the lens of such filmmakers as Roberto Rossellini, Mario Monicelli, Brian DePalma and Ridley Scott.

Freedom and democracy. Bills and laws. Bureaucracy and red tape. Washington, DC, the capital of the United States, is known for many things, most of them related to the inner workings of the government. But it is also a city of carefully planned parks, trees exploding with cherry blossoms in spring, and bright sunshine polishing the gleaming white of stately memorials. With no shortage of iconic American landscapes, such as the vast National Mall; buildings, from the White House and the Capitol to the Watergate Hotel and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; and monuments, including the Washington Monument and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, it is at once synonymous with the country it governs and a world apart. This friction animates and attracts filmmakers, who use the District's landmarks as a shorthand to express and investigate contemporary ideals and concerns about American society. Films set there both celebrate and castigate the grand American experiment it symbolizes. From Frank Capra’s 1939 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington to the alien invasion blockbuster Independence Day, films set in Washington depict our most ardent hopes and bring to life our darkest fears. World Film Locations: Washington, D.C., collects essays and articles about Washington film history and locations. Featuring explorations of carefully chosen film scenes and key historical periods, the book examines themes, directors, and depictions and is illustrated with evocative movie stills, city maps, and location photographs. Taken as a whole, this is essential reading for any cinephile who has ever wondered how a bill becomes a law.