Latest News in Film Studies
Top Billing for King's Film Studies
Film Studies at King’s College London is ranked the best in the UK again according to the Guardian University League Table 2012. This table ranks all UK universities according to teaching excellence. It draws on data procured through the National Student Survey and highlights elements such as teaching quality and quality of feedback and assessment.
King’s @ BFI : Key Scholars in Film Studies seminar series.
Ginette Vincendeau on Jean Gabin 2 May 2012, BFI.
The ‘myth’ of Jean Gabin is central to understanding popular French cinema. Remarkably, the much-loved star projected – with equal authenticity – both tragic working-class heroes in the 1930s in such classics as Le Jour se lève, and bourgeois criminal Godfathers after the war, from Touchez pas au grisbi onwards. In this illustrated talk, Ginette Vincendeau explored the continuities between the two parts of Gabin’s career and the complexities in his projection of charismatic ‘ordinariness’.
Ginette Vincendeau is Professor in Film Studies at King’s College London.
Arts and Humanities Staff Academic Promotions
Congratulations to staff in the School of Arts & Humanities who have been recognised for their hard work in the most recent round of academic promotions, including Dr Mark Betz who is promoted from Senior Lecturer to Reader. Promotions will take effect from September 2012.
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/newsrecords/2012/promotions.aspx
King’s @ BFI : Key Scholars in Film Studies seminar series.
Rachel Dwyer on Raj Kapoor 9 February 2012, BFI.
Raj Kapoor dominated Hindi cinema for four decades yet, although much is known about the man and the Kapoor acting dynasty, there is little writing about his films. The black and white films from the 1940s and 50s, starring Raj Kapoor and Nargis, form a group where the hero seeks a place for himself in the newly independent India. Mixing socialist ideals with Hollywood glamour, and their famous songs, it is their depiction of romance and passion that is his major legacy to Indian cinema.
Rachel Dwyer is a leading expert on India and Professor of Indian Culture and Cinema at SOAS, University of London. Her critically acclaimed books include One Hundred Bollywood Films and Yash Chopra, both published by the BFI. She is currently working on Bollywood's India: Indian Cinema as a Guide to Modern India for Reaktion.
In The Birch Grove (2012): Filming in Auschwitz - Birkenau
Dr Alan Marcus, Head of the Department of Film and Visual Culture, University of Aberdeen
Department of Film Studies, King's College London. Wednesday 1 February 2012 Arthur and Paula Lucas Lecture Theatre, Strand Campus
Dr Marcus delivered a paper about experimental observational approaches in documentary film to the stature and significance of place, its layering, reinvention and interpretation. Included in his presentation was a screening of his latest film, In The Birch Grove (2012), the final part of his five-year practice-as-research project, In Time of Place: a series of filmic meditations and publications investigating selected symbolic sites associated with Jewish identity, the Jewish diaspora and the Holocaust. Read more
NSS Survey 2011 Success
The Film Studies Department has achieved outstanding results in the National Student Satisfaction Survey 2011, with a satisfaction rating for teaching quality of 96%, and with a very high overall satisfaction rating of 94%. These scores place the department within the top two departments of the School of Arts and Humanities, and within the top three departments of the College. Head of Department, Dr Sarah Cooper, said that she is absolutely delighted with these results, which reflect on the hard work that academic colleagues and professional services support staff do to make the student experience within the Film Studies Department the best it can be. She also praised the sterling work that student representatives do on the undergraduate Staff-Student Liaison Committee to ensure excellent lines of communication between members of staff and the student body.
New Academic Appointments in Film Studies
The Film Studies Department will be welcoming two new colleagues in September: Dr Jinhee Choi and Dr Catherine Wheatley.
Jinhee holds two PhDs, one in philosophy and the other in film studies, and is a leading figure in Asian cinema, particularly Korean film. Jinhee has held a postdoctoral fellowship at Yale University, and has taught previously at Carleton University, Canada, and at the University of Kent. Her expertise in world cinema adds a new research and teaching strength to the department.
Catherine is a specialist in European cinema and film theory. She has taught previously at the University of East London, and has been a research fellow at the University of Southampton. Her expertise in European cinema enhances existing specialist interests within the department.
These new appointments represent the first stage in the expansion of the Film Studies Department, which was ranked best in the UK for the study of film in The Guardian University League Table 2011.
Top Billing for King's Film Studies
Film Studies at King’s College London is the best in the UK according to the Guardian University League Table 2011. This table ranks all UK universities according to teaching excellence. It draws on data procured through the National Student Survey and highlights elements such as teaching quality and quality of feedback and assessment.
Conference
New Generation Chinese Cinema: Commodities of Exchange conference took place on May 26th and 27th 2011. Keynote Speakers: Chris Berry (Goldsmiths College), Yomi Braester (University of Washington), Zhang Zhen (New York University) tbc, Lu Xinyu (Fudan University).
NECS International
King's College London Film Studies co-hosted the 5th NECS international conference with Birkbeck on 23-26 June 2011. Sessions at King's took place on 23-24 June and Birkbeck 25-26 June;
Keynotes Speakers: Richard Dyer; Raphaëlle Moine; John Urry, spoke at Senate House.