In 2018, the first edition of the book Montage: An Anthology (1913–2017) was published. It was met with great success and quickly went out of print.This anthology was based on a foundational idea shared by many film critics, theorists, and practitioners: that montage is the very "essence of cinema" (Eisenstein, 1960; Vertov, 1972; Kuleshov, 1994). Montage is seen as what sets cinema apart from other art forms and grants it its specificity and artistic legitimacy. Our intention was to test this premise through the writings of filmmakers, critics, and theorists — and, in doing so, to understand how they justified this belief. The project brought to light both shared ideas and major divergences between theoretical approaches, showing how these differences have led to the emergence of distinct cinematic traditions.

Montage: An Anthology (1913–2018) was conceived as a toolbox for students, practitioners, and researchers passionate about montage and cinema. It brings together texts by Eisenstein and Tarkovsky, Bazin and Godard, Van der Keuken and Wiseman, Deleuze and Agamben. A clear distinction was made between "source" texts — articles, manifestos, or interviews, mostly by filmmakers — and "reference" texts written by critics or theorists. The 94 selected writings were retranslated when necessary, then excerpted, introduced, and presented in strict chronological order. The volume also includes around ten thematic “rhizomes” (e.g., “The Predicates of Montage,” “Continuity and Disruption Between Shots,” “The Temporality of Montage: Rhythm, Flow, Speed”) designed to generate new associations and invite the reader to wander and explore. Through these pages emerges an alternative history of cinema — one that spans from the first appearances of the term "montage" and the formulation of early rules, to more intuitive, less theorized, and perhaps humbler contemporary practices.

However, the first edition did not manage to fully represent all linguistic and cultural spheres. For example, we were unable to include texts by Asian or Northern European filmmakers or critics. The number of texts written by women was also very limited — a gap that made clear the need for an expanded new edition: Montage: An Anthology (1913–2026).

Indeed, the research for the first edition did not sufficiently highlight the role of women in the history of montage, both in practice and in theoretical reflection. Few women wrote about montage during the first sixty years of cinema’s history. And yet, it was often women who carried out the editing of films. This new, expanded edition seeks to address that gap by undertaking a dedicated investigation into texts on montage written by women. A team of women researchers in film studies, forming part of the scientific committee, will collaboratively write several essays. Drawing on their respective areas of expertise, they will examine the role of women in film editing — tracing their contributions to the development of montage aesthetics and considering their theoretical insights, even in texts not explicitly centered on montage. These often-overlooked intertextual contributions, found in the margins of broader discussions, have frequently gone unrecognized as theory. These essays will aim to shed light on the frequently “invisibilized” contributions of women to montage. In this way, the near absence of texts on montage authored by women before the 1970s will be questioned and, to some extent, counterbalanced through these critical interventions. In addition, a series of interviews with contemporary women editors will be conducted, transcribed, and reworked by the scientific committee. 

Furthermore, the first edition lacked a sufficient number of texts from filmmakers, editors, or theorists from Asia, South America, or the African continent. This second edition will seek to address these territorial and cultural gaps through extensive new research carried out in collaboration with the scientific committee.