Dr Matthew Hilborn

I am an interdisciplinary researcher specialising in European Film & Cultural Studies, with a particular focus on contemporary Spanish cinema and questions of humour and identity.

Following studies at Oxford (BA) and Durham (MA, PhD), I joined King’s in September 2022 as Research Associate on the AHRC project ‘Screen Encounters with Britain: What do young Europeans make of Britain and its digital screen culture?’ Employing a mixed-methods approach, this project explores how transnational video-on-demand services affect perceptions of the UK, probing ‘soft power’ in a pivotal post-Brexit context.

My forthcoming book, Film Comedy and Spain: Humour, Genre and the Nation 1970-2020 (Oxford: Legenda), explores the ubiquity, evolution, and political impact of comedy in contemporary Spanish cinema.

Before joining King’s, I worked as tutor, lecturer, and Impact Research Assistant at Durham University, and was Senior Education Officer at the educational charity the English-Speaking Union, teaching oracy skills to disadvantaged students.

Research interests and PhD supervision

I am an experienced academic in the field of Spanish Film Studies and Media Industry Studies. My current research is focused on:

• Contemporary European cinema (Spanish and British)
• Humour Studies / Humour Theory
• Public Service Broadcasting / Public Service Media
• International Distribution of Screen Media
• Media Industries (policy, global media)

I would welcome PhD and MA/MRES proposals on the above, particularly regarding humour/comedy, national identities, the body, and genre. 

Selected publications

Hilborn, M. (Forthcoming). Film Comedy and Spain: Humour, Genre, and the Nation 1970-2020 (Oxford: Legenda) – AHGBI Publication Prize

Sanabria, C., trans. Hilborn, M. (Forthcoming). Misleading Ophelia: Crossovers from Literature, Painting, and Cinema (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Cambridge Scholars)

Esser, A., Hilborn, M., & Steemers, J. (2023). Screen Encounters with Britain - Interim Report Germany: What do young Europeans make of Britain and its digital screen culture?. King's College London. https://doi.org/10.18742/pub01-139

Esser, A., Hilborn, M., & Steemers, J. (2023). Screen Encounters with Britain - Interim Report Denmark: What do young Europeans make of Britain and its digital screen culture?. King's College London. https://doi.org/10.18742/pub01-118.

Hilborn, M. (2022). ‘Grey Humour: The Comedy of Tedium in Rafael Sánchez Ferlosio’s El Jarama (1955)’. Bulletin of Spanish Studies. 99:1. 81- 11. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14753820.2021.2020004

I have also delivered several papers at international conferences in the USA, Spain, and Britain, including SCMS (Society of Cinema & Media Studies), AHGBI (Association of Hispanists of Great Britain and Ireland), ISHS (International Society of Humour Studies), and MeCCSA (Media, Communication & Cultural Studies Association).

Teaching

I have developed extensive teaching experience within Hispanic Studies and Media/Film Studies. I have taught introductions to film theory, children’s media, and media industries, and on various aspects of contemporary Spanish and Latin American visual cultures, especially icons, myths, and the art of the moving image. Covering a range of film and television modules, this encompasses film analysis, contemporary Spanish history, and both qualitative and quantitative research methods into screen distribution, consumption, and reception.

Moreover, I have worked in international distribution (film festivals, transnational media), and have taught Spanish Language (GCSE, A-Level, DELE) for the past 7 years. Lastly, as Senior Education Programmes Officer at the English-Speaking Union (2022), I oversaw a portfolio of public speaking and debating programmes for the most underprivileged, minoritised students, reaching over 1 million learners worldwide.

Expertise and public engagement

Available for media contact about:

• Contemporary Spanish culture (especially film)
• Humour Studies – offence, parody, satire
• International distribution and sale of television programming
• Public service broadcasting/media

From 2019-2021 I was REF Impact Research Assistant at Durham University, collaborating on two 4* Impact case-studies: ‘Rome in Mexico/Mexico in Rome’, ‘Bigas Luna Tribute’.

I have written several features for British Comedy Guide, a reference website covering diverse national humour.

In May 2021 I presented my forthcoming book at Pleibéricos, the online platform empowering Hispanists to discuss their scholarly outputs, co-led by Prof. Santiago Fouz Hernández (Durham) and Dr. Esther Gimeno Ugalde (Vienna). [Spanish]

In 2019-2020, while working at London Spanish Film Festival, I crafted press releases, introduced every film onstage, liaised with media contacts, stakeholders, and practitioners, and sat on judging panels for national and regional competitions. In 2023, I delivered an introductory lecture to the Bigas Luna retrospective.