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Research insights from Oxford Brookes University's Dr Daniela Treveri-Gennari on the practice of cinema-going in 1950s Italy has raised public awareness of the importance of autobiographical memories in the elderly as well as actively involved the elderly in reconstructing the history of an important time in Italian film industry. These benefits of the project were achieved through innovative British Academy funded research-led collaborations between Dr Daniela Treveri-Gennari (Oxford Brookes University) and colleagues at Exeter and Bristol Universities, working with Memoro (a non-profit initiative dedicated since 2007 to divulgate memories of people born before 1940), Rome City Council and the University of the Third Age. Dr Trevari-Gennari has joined with non-profit organisations to create a full map of post-war Italian cinema which includes: oral history of cinema-going; programming dataset; the first topographical charting of cinemas; and the first extensive reviews of popular press of the time.
UWE research has influenced UK public policy, informing the Department of Culture Media and Sport's Film Policy Review report recommendations, which shaped the British Film Institute's policy and strategic priorities. Members of the public have engaged with local cinema heritage as a result of the development of the Curzon Memories App, preserving historical memories for the benefit of the community in Clevedon, a process which has also engaged local schools. Through UWE co-creative research for the City Strata project, technology partner Calvium has increased its product portfolio to include scalable location-aware apps, and heritage partner Bristol City Council, has extended the reach of its Know Your Place platform, directly leading to a joint commission from English Heritage worth £20K.
Research by University of Exeter academics has increased the public's participation in, and appreciation of, the history and pre-history of cinema. Much of this has been achieved by collaborative projects with the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum, a free-entry museum located on the Exeter campus, which has a large collection (65,000 items) of international stature. A number of funded digitisation projects to improve accessibility have presented as well as preserved cultural heritage. The main impacts of this research have been to:
The first film festival, in Venice, was established in 1932. Today, the global festival circuit counts 10,000+ - a disparate and loosely linked galaxy of events — and it is still growing. Yet up until 2009, when our first collection of film festival studies was published, research into festivals was next to non-existent. Our project connects the community of festival practitioners and systematically analyses the work they produce. We enable them to learn from shared experience and improve operations. Five years into the project, we are recognised as `the global hub of film festival research' (as per U.S. critic B. Ruby Rich) and enjoy worldwide visibility and brand recognition for our Film Festival Yearbook series. At least a third of the festivals around the world have heard of our work or have used our publications; the majority of leading festivals have taken part in it. We already see massive recognition as festival directors get in touch to ask us to work with them.
This case study refers to the impact of the work of one member of the submitting unit. The assertion is that the work of Zubillaga has had impact on civil society, cultural life and public discourse. It has: illuminated a repository of cultural capital (through archival research) and interrogated cultural values (specific to a Latin American context) enriched the imaginations of those who have viewed his films; enhanced sensibilities with regard to the cultural themes they explore; and extended the range and improved the quality of evidence, argument and expression to enhance public understanding of Venezuelan and more broadly Latin American cultural and political memory.
Interdisciplinary research by the Centre for Architecture and the Visual Arts (CAVA), based in the School of Architecture, is on the role of the moving image in the culture and identity of cities. By examining historic film, current trends and future developments in city branding and digital imaging, a new field of research has developed with three types of beneficiary: (1) institutions (museums and galleries); (2) municipal authorities (planning/urban development departments); (3) inhabitants of and visitors to cities. Liverpool's European Capital of Culture programme (2008) formed the basis of the research, which has spread nationally (London/Battersea) and internationally (China).
Research by film specialists in Modern Languages (ML) at the University of Exeter promotes the artistic value, diversity and continuing social, cultural and political relevance of European cinema to a variety of audiences in the UK and abroad. Their research has advanced community cohesion through memories of cinema-going (impact 1), informed the teaching of European cinema in secondary schools and HE (impact 2) and enhanced cultural life, promoting public appreciation of European cinema nationally and internationally (impact 3). This has been achieved through contributing to online archival studies of cinema audiences, participation in film festivals, introductions to film screenings, public lectures and DVD commentaries.
Film Festivals constitute the main institutional alternative to commercially-driven cinema and as such occupy a vitally important part of our cultural heritage. The BFI estimates that `only 7% of all cinema screens are regularly devoted to non-mainstream film', and cites the film festival as an exemplary model for broadening cinema knowledge and education (`New Horizons for UK Film 2012-17'). Film Studies Queen Mary is committed to enhancing a public understanding of obscure and complex film through film festivals, bringing to bear insights born of research including production histories and analytical interpretations of film texts and performances. Collaborating with programmers, curators, local authorities, and diasporic communities, researchers have made significant contributions to festivals including to the founding of two new film festivals (the London Spanish Film Festival 2005 and Cutting East Youth Film Festival 2013), engaging with constituent groups and cultures that are not strongly represented in the UK's commercial film culture.
Bournemouth University (BU) research by White (BU 2003 to present) focuses on the relationship between art, technology and culture. Exhibitions, workshops and presentations across the UK, Europe and in the USA have provoked societal reflection on critical topics such as genetics and germ warfare, among other controversial ethical issues. The work examines how sites, technologies and events shape our ideas of culture, political and personal life, whilst exposing audiences to ordinarily inaccessible information. Beneficiaries include the arts organisation with whom White has collaborated, and their participants, but more widely, those benefiting from his contribution to socially engaged art. The work has also furthered art-science discourse, providing impetus and critical breadth to the development of art and science as a cultural sector in the UK.
Drawing on their insight and knowledge of British cinema history, Keith M. Johnston and Melanie Williams established partnerships with DVD releasing companies Studio Canal UK and Network Distributing. Applying and transferring their specific research insights and knowledge (around gender and technology in British cinema history) led to wealth creation and added value for these commercial organisations.
This was achieved through creating a research-led strategy that identified lesser-known catalogue titles for release, and contributing research knowledge through special features material for Woman in a Dressing Gown (1957; 2012 DVD release) and The Ealing Rarities Collections volumes 1-6 (2013 DVD releases).