People

Professor Shohini Chaudhuri

Professor
Department of Literature Film and Theatre Studies (LiFTS)
Professor Shohini Chaudhuri

Profile

Biography

Shohini Chaudhuri's main research and teaching area is World Cinema, with particular interests in film and human rights, film-philosophy, feminist and postcolonial theory. Her work develops transnational and comparative frameworks to explore links between different film cultures. She has written four books - Crisis Cinema in the Middle East: Creativity and Constraint in Iran and the Arab World (2022), Cinema of the Dark Side: Atrocity and the Ethics of Film Spectatorship (2014), Contemporary World Cinema: Europe, the Middle East, East Asia and South Asia (2005) and Feminist Film Theorists (2006). Her article (co-authored with Howard Finn) on New Iranian Cinema has been published in Screen and reprinted in two anthologies, Screening World Cinema, ed. Catherine Grant and Annette Kuhn (2006) and Gender, Genre, Race, and World Cinema, ed. Julie Codell (2007). She has also published articles in the journals Camera Obscura, Strategies: A Journal of Theory, Culture and Politics, South Asian Popular Culture, and Screening the Past, as well as essays in numerous edited collections, such as Global Humanitarianism and Media Culture, ed. Michael Lawrence and Rachel Tavernor (2018), The Blackwell Companion to Wong Kar-wai, ed. Martha Nochimson (2016) and Disappearing War: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Cinema and Erasure in the Post-9/11 World, ed. Christina Hellmich and Lisa Purse (2017). Her most recent book is the result of a Leverhulme Research Fellowship for a project titled Creativity and Constraint: Contemporary Cinema in Iran and the Arab World. A film activist as well as educator, Shohini has researched and curated film programmes for The Mosaic Rooms, London, and the Art Exchange, University of Essex, and has organized public film events for the NGO Amnesty International and other cultural institutions. Additional information: She would particularly welcome applications for Ph.D. theses on the intersecting areas of film, human rights, and critical and cultural theory.

Qualifications

  • BA Oxford

  • MA London

  • PhD London

Research and professional activities

Research interests

notions of world cinema, intercultural and transnational cinema

Open to supervise

film and human rights

Open to supervise

gender and feminist theory

Open to supervise

film theory and affect

Open to supervise

Conferences and presentations

Practices of Care in Crisis Cinema (Keynote)

Invited presentation, Keynote presentation, European Network for Cinema and Media Studies (NECS) 2023, University of Oslo, Norway, 15/6/2023

Persian Cinema Near and Far: Creativity and Controversy

Invited presentation, Persian Film Festival, Sydney, Sydney, Australia, 8/12/2019

Alternative Spaces of Free Expression

The Paradox of Creative Constraints – a public symposium, The Mosaic Rooms, London, United Kingdom, 7/9/2019

Visible and Invisible: Screening Violence from the Middle East

Invited presentation, Keynote presentation, Screening Violence: Affect, Responsibility, Accountability, The Storey, Lancaster, United Kingdom, 4/4/2019

Iranian cinema

Invited presentation, The Burning Question, 8/3/2019

Cinema of Constraints: Continuity and Change in Contemporary Filmmaking from and about the Arab World and Iran

Invited presentation, Keynote presentation, MeCCSA Annual Conference 2019 - Continuity and Change – Media, Communications and Politics, Stirling, United Kingdom, 10/1/2019

'Iraq War Home Movies: Abbas Fahdel's Homeland (Iraq Year Zero)'

Invited presentation, Histories of Arab Documentary, Munich, Germany, 27/10/2017

Five Broken Cameras Film screening and Q&A with the director

Invited presentation, London, United Kingdom, 5/7/2017

'The Alterity of the Image: The Distant Spectator and Films about the Syrian Revolution and War'

Invited presentation, WORLD CINEMA AND COSMOPOLITICS RESEARCH GROUP, Durham, United Kingdom, 7/6/2017

'The Alterity of the Image: The Distant Spectator and Films about the Syrian Revolution and War' (Plenary)

Invited presentation, Cinematic Ethics and Globalization, Glasgow, United Kingdom, 2/6/2017

'Nine Cinematic Devices for Staging (In)visible War and the (Vanishing) Colonial Present'

Invited presentation, English Colloquium, Brighton, United Kingdom, 28/9/2016

'From the Margins to the Mainstream: How the Zombie, a Figure of Colonial Enslavement, Came to Embody Threats to First World Populations' (Plenary), Zombies between (Pop-)Culture and (Visual) Politics, University of Konstanz, April 2016.

Invited presentation, Konstanz, Germany, 4/4/2016

Queens of Syria and Syrian Short Films, screenings and Q&A; As accompanying The Movement of the People exhibition, Art Exchange, University of Essex, October-November 2016.

Colchester, United Kingdom, 2016

Crisis and Creativity: A Season of Contemporary Films from and about the Arab World, a public programme of film screenings and talks curated for The Mosaic Rooms, May-June 2016.

2016

Thinkers for our Time: Sigmund Freud

Invited presentation, Panel Discussion, London, United Kingdom, 25/11/2015

'Film as Art and Activism: the Case of Recent Palestine Solidarity Cinema'

Invited presentation, Film and Screen Studies Research Seminar, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 18/11/2015

'Ethics of Cross-border Spectatorship'

Invited presentation, Keynote presentation, Crossing Borders, Traversing Narratives, St Andrews, United Kingdom, 11/2/2015

'Cinema, News Media and Perception Management of the Gaza Conflicts', Global Humanitarianism and Media Culture, University of Sussex, February 2015.

Invited presentation, Keynote presentation, Brighton, United Kingdom, 8/2/2015

'Freedom and Expression Symposium', Free Word Centre, London, July 2015.

London, United Kingdom, 2015

'Concerning Violence', Film screening and panel discussion, part of the programme Documenting Nazi Atrocities: Early Films on the Liberation of the Camps, Goethe-Institut, London, June 2015.

London, United Kingdom, 2015

'Where Should the Birds Fly', Film screening and panel discussion, Amnesty International UK, London, April 2015.

London, United Kingdom, 2015

'The Art of Disappearance: Transnational Cinema, Multidirectional Memory and Films about Political Violence'

Invited presentation, Perspectives on Transnational Film/Media Studies, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 11/5/2014

Humanities in Human Rights

Invited presentation, AHRC Skills Initiative, Norwich, United Kingdom, 10/2013

Recent conference papers include:

Teaching and supervision

Current teaching responsibilities

  • Human Rights and the Arts (HU932)

  • Approaches to Film and Media (LT121)

  • World Cinema (LT207)

Previous supervision

Thomas Gerard Waters
Thomas Gerard Waters
Thesis title: A Cinema of Immanence: The Films of Paul Verhoeven in Hollywood and Beyond
Degree subject: Film Studies
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 10/2/2020
Mahmoud Darraj
Mahmoud Darraj
Thesis title: Investigating the Problematic of Migrant Identity in South-Asian and Arab Post-Colonial Fiction: A Cross-Cultural Comparison
Degree subject: Literature
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 3/4/2019
Xinwei Zhu
Xinwei Zhu
Thesis title: The Enchanted Image: The Transforming Imagination of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Through Material Practice and Media Technology
Degree subject: Literature
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 7/6/2018
Fahmida Akhter
Fahmida Akhter
Thesis title: Fragmented Memory, Incomplete History: Women and Nation in War Films of Bangladesh
Degree subject: Film Studies
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 7/7/2017
Katya Al Khateeb
Katya Al Khateeb
Thesis title: Fetishising the Dominant Culture in Migration Narratives: Examining Azar Nafisi's 'Reading Lolita in Tehran', Bharati Mukherjee's 'Jasmine' and Monica Ali's 'Brick Lane'
Degree subject: Literature
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 29/6/2016
Catherine Eleanor Pugh
Catherine Eleanor Pugh
Thesis title: Unhuman Borderlands: Madness, Metamorphic Monsters and Landscape in Contemporary Horror Cinema
Degree subject: Film Studies
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 3/7/2014
Natasha Jane Mansfield
Natasha Jane Mansfield
Thesis title: War Brought Home: 'Quiet Trauma' and Contemporary Fictions of Youth in the Middle East
Degree subject: Literature
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 12/6/2013

Publications

Journal articles (12)

Chaudhuri, S., (2024). Filmmakers pull it out of the bag. Index on Censorship. 53 (2), 55-57

Chaudhuri, S., (2023). Soundtracks of Our Lives: Music-Making and Musicians in MENA Cinema. Regards: Revue des arts du spectacle (30), 15-153

Rastegar, K. and Chaudhuri, S., (2023). Opening a Space for the Audience: A Dialogue with Kamran Rastegar about Composing MENA Cinema Soundtracks. Regards Revue des arts du spectacle. 30, 91-114

Eid, R. and Chaudhuri, S., (2023). Ways of Listening: An Interview with Sound Designer Rana Eid. Regards Revue des arts du spectacle. 30, 115-133

Chaudhuri, S., (2018). The Alterity of the Image: the Distant Spectator and Films about the Syrian Revolution and War. Transnational Cinemas. 9 (1), 46-46

Chaudhuri, S., Finn, H. and Toprak, T., (2016). Açık İmge: Şiirsel Gerçekçilik ve Yeni İran Sineması. Sine/Cine: Sinema Araştırmaları Dergisi/Journal of Film Studies. 7 (1), 139-161

Chaudhuri, S., (2013). Documenting The Dark Side: Torture and The 'War On Terror' in Zero Dark Thirty, Taxi To The Dark Side, and Standard Operating Procedure. Screening the Past. 37

Chaudhuri, S. and Clayton, S., (2012). Storytelling in Bhutanese cinema: Research context and case study of a film in development. Journal of Screenwriting. 3 (2), 197-214

Chaudhuri, S., (2009). Snake charmers and child brides: Deepa Mehta's Water, 'exotic' representation, and the cross-cultural spectatorship of South Asian migrant cinema. South Asian Popular Culture. 7 (1), 7-20

Chaudhuri, S. and Finn, H., (2003). The open image: poetic realism and the New Iranian Cinema. Screen. 44 (1), 38-57

Chaudhuri, S., (2001). Witnessing Death: Ballard's and Cronenberg's Crash. Strategies: Journal of Theory, Culture & Politics. 14 (1), 63-75

Chaudhuri, S., (1997). Visit of the Body Snatchers: Alien Invasion Themes in Vampire Narratives. Camera Obscura: Feminism, Culture, and Media Studies. 14 (1-2), 180-198

Books (4)

Chaudhuri, S., (2022). Crisis cinema in the Middle East: Creativity and constraint in Iran and the Arab world. 1350190519. 9781350190511

Chaudhuri, S., (2014). Cinema of the dark side: Atrocity and the ethics of film spectatorship. Edinburgh University Press. 978-1474400428

Chaudhuri, S., (2006). Feminist Film Theorists Laura Mulvey, Kaja Silverman, Teresa de Lauretis, Barbara Creed. Routledge. 1134346670. 978-0415324328

Chaudhuri, S., (2005). Contemporary World Cinema: Europe, the Middle East, East Asia and South Asia. Edinburgh University Press. 9780748617999

Book chapters (9)

Chaudhuri, S., (2022). ‘Iraq War Home Movies: Abbas Fahdel’s Long Format, Slow Documentary Homeland (Iraq Year Zero)’. In: Documentary Filmmaking in the Middle East and North Africa. Editors: Shafik, V., . The American University of Cairo Press. 457- 473. 9789774169588

Chaudhuri, S., (2018). 'Telegenically dead Palestinians': Cinema, news media and perception management of the Gaza conflicts. In: Global Humanitarianism and Media Culture. Editors: Lawrence, M. and Tavernor, R., . Manchester University Press. 103- 121. 9781526117298

Chaudhuri, S., (2017). Nine cinematic devices for staging (in)visible war and the (vanishing) colonial present. In: Disappearing War Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Cinema and Erasure in the Post-9/11 World. Editors: Hellmich, C. and Purse, L., . Edinburgh University Press. 9781474416566

Chaudhuri, S., (2016). Color Design in Wong Kar-wai's Cinema. In: A Companion to Wong Kar-wai. Editors: Nochimson, MP., . Wiley-Blackwell. 153- 181. 1-118-42424-7. 978-1-118-42424-7

Chaudhuri, S. and Clayton, S., (2013). Clouds of Unknowing: Buddhism and Bhutanese Cinema. In: Storytelling in World Cinemas: Contexts. Editors: Khatib, L., . Wallflower. 157- 171. 9780231163361

Chaudhuri, S., (2013). Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974), Rainer Werner Fassbinder. In: Film Analysis: A Norton Reader (Second edition). Editors: Geiger, J. and Rutsky, RL., . W W Norton. 9780393923247

Chaudhuri, S., (2011). Unpeople: Postcolonial reflections on terror, torture and detention in Children Of Men. In: Postcolonial Cinema Studies. Editors: Ponzanesi, S. and Waller, M., . Routledge. 191- 204. 978-0415782289

Chaudhuri, S. and Finn, H., (2006). The Open Image: Poetic Realism and the New Iranian Cinema. In: Screening World Cinema: A Screen Reader. Editors: Grant, C. and Kuhn, A., . Routledge. 163- 181. 9780415384285

Chaudhuri, S., (2005). Dogma brothers: Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg. In: New Punk Cinema. Editors: Rombes, N., . Edinburgh University Press. 153- 167. 978-0748620357

Conferences (2)

Chaudhuri, S., MeCCSA Annual Conference 2019 Continuity and Change– Media, Communications and Politics

Chaudhuri, S., (2020). Cinema of Constraints: Continuity and Change in Contemporary Filmmaking from and about the Arab World and Iran

Grants and funding

2019

Creativity and Constraint: Contemporary Cinema in Iran and the Arab World

Leverhulme Trust

Symposium: The Paradox of Creative Constraints

University of Essex (GCRF)

2015

Crisis and Creativity: A Season of Contemporary Films from and about the Arab World

Economic & Social Research Council

Contact

schaudh@essex.ac.uk
+44 (0) 1206 872591

Location:

5NW.6.18, Colchester Campus

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