Chris Berry joins the Department of Film Studies

The Department of Film Studies is delighted to announce that Chris Berry will join the faculty as Professor of Film Studies in September 2012.

One of the leading scholars of Chinese cinemas, Professor Berry’s appointment will bring both added depth and increased breadth to the research and teaching of a department already ranked best in the UK for the study of film.

Professor Berry’s research focuses on films from The People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Chinese diaspora, as well as on their production, history and reception, and the film cultures of these countries. His publications include Cinema and the National: China on Screen (with Mary Farquhar); TV China, and Mobile Cultures: New Media and Queer Asia.

Commenting on the appointment, Head of Department Dr Sarah Cooper said: 'I'm absolutely delighted that Chris Berry will be joining the Film Studies Department at King's. His world-leading scholarship on Chinese cinema will bring a vital area of expertise to the department's existing strengths. His presence will also help to develop further links between the department and the China Institute at King's. His specialism complements that of Jinhee Choi (appointed in 2010) in Korean cinema, and his arrival will consolidate a new research cluster on Asian cinema within the department, adding to our other main specialist research interests in European and North American cinema.'

‘Coming to Film Studies at King’s is very exciting for me for a number of reasons,’ Professor Berry added. ‘First, it’s widely seen as the best Film Studies department in the UK! Second, being in Media and Communications at Goldsmiths has been hugely refreshing and given me a lot of new intermedial perspectives on moving image culture. But moving images are my core interest, and so I look forward to bringing those new perspectives back to my home discipline, so to speak. Third, for the first time in my life, I won’t be the only person who teaches ‘non-Western’ film in my department, and that is really significant to me both politically and in terms of the dialogues I hope it will open up. And of course there’s also the China Institute at King’s, whose existence confirms a genuine commitment on the College’s part to the area of the world I work on.’