PhD student film gets first major screening in London

It is the first exhibition of its kind providing an opportunity to showcase diverse and critical work which brings theory and practice together and has been funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

Viva Viva will also be a networking opportunity for practitioners to meet with each other, academics and influential members of the film industry. It will be a celebration of more than a decades worth of completed audio-visual practice-led doctorates (AVPhDs) from the UK. Drawing from the fine arts, cultural studies, anthropology and new media, audio-visual installations, films and their written theses will be displayed at the P3 Gallery in central London.

Stefan’s film research explored three major themes; the emergence of transgender and transsexual politics in Bologna, Italy, explorations of the body in a Camphill centre in Wales with young adults with disabilities, and cross-artistic collaborations with dance and quantum physics. Each project involved extensive research and fieldwork towards the production of a film and a chapter for a thesis. The three films are linked through the politics of identity, questioning otherness as a reflection of similarity and understanding. With a background in social and visual anthropology, Stefan’s approach to Queer Theory was from a documentary angle.

Stefan said ‘I have attempted to provide a subjectively honest portrayal of how people view themselves and what they decide to show to the world through exploring the way that they live and engage with the society.’

He added, ‘I’m really excited at the thought of this exhibition, as it is the first of its kind using completed practical audio-visual PhD work. It will be great to have such a public and renowned outlet for my work. It’s a brilliant opportunity to present my work beyond the realms of academia in an artistic context and great for my CV.’

At Exeter, Film by Practice students are expected to have considerable experience in filmmaking already with at least one year at postgraduate level and Stefan has extensive experience following from his MA in Visual Anthropology. Stefan also ensured that the University gained an even larger presence at The Viva Viva exhibition which will also highlight the relationship of two honorary professors of film, Don Boyd and Nic Roeg with the Film Studies department at the University.

Director of Postgraduate Research in Film Studies and Stefan’s supervisor Professor Susan Hayward says, ‘Stefan’s intellectual journey over his PhD by Practice programme has been exemplary of what we hope to achieve in Film Studies at Exeter through the interfacing of Theory and Practice. Stefan is our first graduate from this doctoral programme and we are justifiably proud of his achievements. He has challenged boundaries in terms of experimentation with the documentary film and it is not surprising, therefore, that all three of his films have been presented in Film Festivals within the UK.’