Film studies and screen practice research
Explore our film studies and screen practice work as part of our film, television and media research
Within our film studies and screen practice research, we explore the relationship between film, screen studies, industries of production and communities of practice. We have a comprehensive approach and are interested in representation, industry and production, fan communities, ethics and film language.
Film and screen cultures saturate all aspects of our life and our research is part of a project to highlight, interpret, decode and challenge those cultural forms.
Many of our researchers in this area have transnational research networks, with colleagues in film and media studies departments across the globe. Our work on fan cultures in particular represents a significant body of work that has had direct impact on public knowledge and the promotion of popular media culture and fandom outside of academia through our participation in fan conventions and Comic Con.
We also have specialisms in horror and the gothic, propaganda and politics in the media, animation and film and television, Transnational Cinema, screenwriting, broadcasting, editing and sound production and Latin American Cinema. Some of researchers also bring in their industry experience, examining the relationship between practice and theory as well as producing internationally recognised films, television programmes and documentaries.
Our research topics
- Fandom and popular culture
- History and theory of animation
- Hollywood film
- British film
- Digital content
- Horror
- Transmedia storytelling
- Adaptation
- Comics and film
- Latin American film
- Transnational film and television
- Gender and film and television
- Women's filmmaking
- Queer theory and film and television
- Film and migration
- Fantasy and animation
- Filmmaking in Israel and Palestine
- Film production
- Screenwriting
- Television broadcasting
- Documentary
- Ethics of film and television production
- Sound production
- Editing
Methods
Our research methods include theoretical approaches from fan studies, feminism, genre studies, postcolonialism, and queer theory psychoanalysis, transnational film theory, adaptation studies, horror studies, and film ethics. We also engage with data and statistical approaches, industry and archival approaches, and textual and paratextual analysis.
Partnerships
We have partnerships with Comic Con and its annual events in Portsmouth with contributions by staff and students who organise panels for the public. We also have partnerships with Cinema no. 6. with staff involved in co-organising events including the Making Waves Film Festival.
Projects
Our researchers are engaged in individual projects that have resulted in significant articles and publications in the areas of film, and television. We have published books on the fantastic in Hollywood fantasy cinemas, the scientist in popular culture, fan tourism and conventions, British television animation, screen representations of the Bosnian War, women’s filmmaking in Latin America. Our researchers have also published academic books on iconic popular cultural texts such as Star Wars, Star Trek, American Horror Story, and Sense8.
Our work has also been covered by mainstream news outlets around the world.
We run a regular Pop Matters television show that highlights the research from staff in the school and the Faculty.
Pop Matters
Explore popular culture and its impact on society with our Pop Matters series, produced by the Faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries.
On the podcast
Rise of the Film Franchise ft. Professor Lincoln Geraghty
In this episode of Life Solved, Professor Lincoln Geraghty takes us through a history of the film franchise, and explores how they’re keeping our imaginations and the film industry alive today.
Tackling Racial & Gender Inequality in TV and Film ft. Professor Deborah Shaw
In this episode of the Life Solved podcast, Professor Deborah Shaw explores how the route to equality lies in representation both on screen and off.
Episode 6: Meet the Aca fans
Professor Lincoln Geraghty introduces us to the Aca-fans: the academics who are researching the (often positive) social impact of fandom on communities and individuals. Listen now.
Recent articles
Can cinema survive in a golden age of serial TV?
In our changing world of media, does the distinction between “TV series” and “film” even make sense?
Becoming Frida Kahlo: new BBC documentary paints a compelling portrait of the Mexican artist
A new three-part series brings together a wealth of material and voices to present new films, photographs, stories and theories about the brilliant artist.
Flee: animation is a powerful medium for documentaries about conflict and refugees
Animation allowed the makers of Flee to tell a story that challenges the pervasive narrative of it means to be a refugee
Titanic at 25: how James Cameron captured 1990s anxieties with pure golden-age Hollywood style
To mark the anniversary of the Oscar winning film Titantic, Dylan Pank from the Faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries explores how it captured pre-millennium audiences imagination, as well as their fears for the Conversation UK.
What Makes a Good Christmas Movie?
Join us as we explore what makes a top Christmas movie, and see our top 5.
Lightyear’s same-sex kiss – the controversy that led to Disney’s first ‘real’ LGBTQ+ representation
The company has been suspected of alluding to same-sex couples in the past but Lightyear’s kiss could be the first overt instance of LGBTQ+ representation.
Making Waves Film Festival
Our staff and students co-organised the Making Waves film festival’s take over of local arts cinema No. 6 in the Portsmouth Dockyard.
Our members
Discover our areas of expertise
Film studies is one of three areas of expertise within our Film and Media research. Explore the others below.
Conflict and Culture
Through our research in this area of expertise, we're analysing the artistic treatment of social crisis and military conflict, and how they're represented through media.
Media and popular culture
We're exploring new cultures of production and consumption to understand how media audiences are becoming content creators. Explore our media and popular culture research.
Interested in a PhD in Film and Media?
Browse our postgraduate research degrees – including PhDs and MPhils – at our Film and Media postgraduate research degrees page.