The Department of Film Studies at King’s College London is a leading centre for research on cinema, from its earliest days to the present, and is among the most highly-rated departments for research in our subject area in the UK.
In the most recent Research Excellence Framework (REF2021), the Department – along with the Department of Music, as a joint submission – are the 4th ranked institution in the UK. Alongside that, 100 per cent of the research impact and research environment was rated either ‘world leading’ (4*) or ‘internationally excellent’ (3*).
With particular specialisms in the history and theory of film across the globe, research at the Film Studies Department focuses on popular cinema and art cinema; film distribution and exhibitions; film festivals, galleries and museums; queer cinema; the history of film theory; film and philosophy; and the representation of cities and their roles as centres of film and media.
Film research explores the complicated dynamic between movies and culture, their role as both a mirror as well as an influencing power of the society they represent.
At the centre of London, being one of the most active film producing cities in the world, the Department partners with other world-leading organisations such as the British Film Institute in understanding the relevance and leading in the critique of film today.