Global Circulations of Film Theory

Film theory is about what we think film is, and this in turn shapes the story of cinema that we teach, the kinds of films people make, the kinds of choices that archives make about which films to restore, and the decisions that streaming services such as MUBI make about what films to include in their library. Film theory is therefore fundamental, not only to Film Studies as a discipline, but to film culture as such.

Recent decades have witnessed a significant critical reassessment of film theory, which was conceived historically as emanating from the West. Rather than understand theory as a procession of major works by mainly European and North American authors, scholars have extended exploration beyond the Euro-American axis. This expanded understanding of film theory underpins our proposed research. Our network aims, however, to develop in a new and properly global direction a field that in our view still remains largely nationally or regionally bounded.

The network brings together film scholars from around the world who share a common critique of film theory's western imperialist foundations. Western conceptions of theory have led to it being found historically only in western contexts associated with certain kinds of writing. Our response to this is to re-pose the question of what film theory is in relation to different objects of study, which include films as well as a variety of texts across a range of cultures.

Our approach relies on the conjunction of film- and text-based research to chart the generation, translation, and circulation of theory throughout different locales. Our principal focus is on conversations across geographical boundaries at moments of geopolitical crisis. We will focus on interlocking historical moments in the post-1945 age of decolonisation which influenced each other without being reducible to one another. Asking what theory is at such historical moments will serve as a pivot relevant to the shared interests of participants across the network.

The network includes colleagues from Algeria, Argentina, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Mexico, Singapore, the UK, and the USA, who are leading experts in African, Asian, European, Latin American, and Soviet film theory. By connecting these scholars, we will broaden through wide-scale collaborative research the understanding of what theory is and can do. We will also envisage how theory might continue to circulate in the light of our decolonising approach. Our network includes film practitioners, enabling us to pursue the expansion of film theory in conjunction with, rather than in opposition to, practice.

While our research will be informed by academic discussion of the sites, practices, and circulations of theory (to be discussed at three online events), we will draw the general public into the discussion through workshops run in partnership with BFI Southbank. This collaboration recognises the crucial role non-academic audiences can play in the re-emergence of film theory that our network envisages. The workshops will also provide vital stepping-stones towards curricular innovation.

Many film programme curricula in the UK and the USA still feature film theory as a procession of major works by mainly European and North American authors. The network will develop resources for the reorganisation of curricula to reflect the more expansive understanding of the global circulation of theory resulting from its research. These will be shared in the form of teaching toolkits by means of a network website, as well as a final conference and publications.

We will document and disseminate our progress on the network website via blog conversations between network participants and more formal academic reflections. Our final event, a two-day international hybrid conference, will showcase our findings, which we will also present in an edited volume that will set the agenda for debates on future global circulations of film theory.