Overview of Research Interests
My work focuses upon two main research areas: film festivals and genre film (particularly genre film festivals, Italian genre cinema and early horror cinema). I have written on numerous aspects of horror cinema, with an emphasis on European horror. My scholarship has appeared in journals such as Studies in European Cinema, Film Studies, Alphaville: Journal of Film & Screen Media, The Italianist and The Journal Italian of Cinema and Media Studies, as well as in books such as International Film Festivals: Contemporary Cultures and History Beyond Venice and Cannes (2018), Italian Horror Cinema (2016), Screening the Undead: Vampires and Zombies in Film & Television (2013) and European Horror since 1945 (2012).
Qualifications
- 2005- 2009: PhD, Popular Genre Cinema and Cultural Appeal: The Reception of Dario Argento’s Films in the UK and Italy, Aberystwyth University
- 2004- 2005: MA in Audience and Reception Studies (distinction), Aberystwyth University
- 1998- 1999: MA in Latin American Politics & Government (Economic & Social Science Research Council scholarship), University of Essex
- 1995 –1998: BA in Politics, University of Essex
Professional Affiliations
- British Association of Film, Television and Screen Studies
Employment
- 2010 onwards – Senior Lecturer in Film & Television Studies, Northumbria University
- 2015-2019, External Examiner, BA Film & Television Studies, Derby University
Visiting teaching roles at other Universities
- 2011, European Cinema tutor, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Vesalius College Summer School, Brussels
PhD Supervision and Examination
PhD Supervision
- Jonathan Mack (completed PhD), ‘Intermediality and American Independent Cinema’ (2013-2016)
- Tom Ellis (doctoral candidate, part-time), ‘Digital film poster collection and online markets’ (2015 – 2021)
- Sophie Freeman (completed PhD), ’Adaptation to survive: British horror cinema in the 1960s and 1970s’ (2011-2018)
- Michael Guarneri (completed PhD), ‘The vampire in popular Italian cinema: 1957 – 1980’ (2015 – 2018)
External examiner
- Doctoral thesis (practice based), Swansea University, June 2021, Sarah Crowther, ‘Bloody Disgusting! Abjection, Excess & Absurdity: The Carnivalesque Cohesion Between Horror & Comedy in Film & Television’
- Doctoral thesis, Queen University, Belfast, June 2017, Alexandra Kapka, ‘Eastern European ordeal cinema in the UK: Online distribution and film classification policies’
I have internally examined seven PhD theses.
Publications
- Hunter, Russ. ‘Capturing European Crime: European Crime Cinema at European Film Festivals’, Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media, no. 22 (2021), pp. 31–41
- Hunter, Russ, ‘The sign of the cross: Georges Méliès and early Satanic cinema’ in Satan and Cinema, Hansen Regina and Jeffrey Weinstock, New York: Fordham Unviersity press (2021, forthcoming)
Hunter, Russ, ‘Cult film festivals’ in The Companion to Cult Cinema, in Ernest Mathijs and Jamie Sexton, Routledge (2018) - Hunter, Russ, ‘Morasta mesta. Italijanski film okoljski diskurzi’, Kino!, Volume 36 (2018) , pp.144-158
- Hunter, Russ, ‘Genre Film Festivals and Rethinking the Definition of “The Festival Film’ in International Film Festivals: Contemporary Cultures and History Beyond Venice and Cannes, Tricia Jenkins (ed), I.B.Tauris (2017), pp.90-105
- Hunter, Russ, ‘I have a picture of the Monster!’: Il mostro di Frankenstein and the search for Italian horror cinema, Journal of Italian Cinema and Media Studies, Volume 5, Number 2, March 2017, pp. 159-172
- Hunter, Russ and Stefano Baschiera (eds), Italian Horror Cinema, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press (2016)
- Hunter, Russ, ‘Preferisco l’inferno: Early Italian horror cinema’ in Italian Horror Cinema,
Baschiera, Stefano and Russ Hunter (eds), Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press (2016)
Hunter, Russ, ‘Luxembourg calling: regional funding initiatives and the European horror film’, Film Studies, Issue 15, Autumn (2016) - Hunter, Russ, ‘Eco Zombies: The Italian Horror Film and Political Ideology’, The Italianist, No.2, Vol.33 (2013)
- Hunter, Russ, ‘Nightmare Cities: Italian zombie cinema and environmental discourses’ in Hunt, Leon, Sharon Lockyer and Milly Williamson (eds), Screening the Undead: Vampires and Zombies in Film & Television, London: I.B.Taurus (2013)
- Hunter, Russ, ‘I don’t wanna be dead! There’s no future in it!’: The US and UK critical reception of Four Lions’ in No Known Cure: The Comedy of Chris Morris, James Leggott and Jamie Sexton (eds), London: Routledge (June, 2013)
- Hunter, Russ, ‘The ecstasy of gold: Love, greed and homosociality in the Dollars trilogy’, Studies in European Cinema, 9:1, pp.69-79 (2012)
- Hunter, Russ and Ernest Mathijs, ‘Refusing to look at rape: The European Marketing and Reception of Belgian Horror Cinema’ in Brick, Emily, David Huxley and Patricia Allmer (eds), European Horror since 1945, London-New York: Wallflower Press/Columbia University Press (2012)
- Hunter, Russ, ‘Didn’t you used to be Dario Argento?’: The Cult Reception of Dario Argento, in William Hope (ed), Italian Film Directors in the New Millennium, Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Press (2010), pp.63-74
Non-Refereed Publications
- Hunter, Russ, ‘Manhattan Baby’ in Evil Seeds: The Ultimate Movie Guide to Villainous Children, Vanessa Morgan (ed), Independently published (2021)
- Hunter Russ, ‘Funny Men’ and ‘The Gothic Horror’ in Philip Kemp (ed), This is Cinema, London: Quintet (2011)
- Hunter, Russ, various encyclopaedia entries in Steven Schneider (ed), 101 Cult Films, London: Quintet (2010)
- Hunter, Russ, various encyclopaedia entries in Steven Schneider (ed), 101 Action Films, London: Quintet (2010)
- Hunter, Russ, various encyclopaedia entries in Steven Schneider (ed), 101 Gangster Films, London: Quintet (2010)
- Hunter Russ, various encyclopaedia entries in Steven Schneider (ed), 101 War Films, London: Quintet (2010)
- Hunter, Russ, various encyclopaedia entries in Steven Schneider (ed), 101 Horror Movies, New York: Quintet (2009)
- Hunter, Russ, various encyclopaedia entries in Steven Schneider (ed), 101 Science Fiction Movies, New York: Quintet (2009)
- Hunter, Russ, various encyclopaedia entries in Steven Schneider (ed), 501 Movie Directors, New York: Quintet (2008)
- Hunter, Russ, various encyclopaedia entries in Steven Schneider (ed), 501 Movie Stars, London: Quintet (2008)
Policy/Research Reports
- Barker, Martin, Kate Egan, Russ Hunter, Ernest Mathijs, Jamie Sexton & Melanie Selfe, Audiences and Reception of Sexual Violence in Contemporary Cinema, London: BBFC – British Board of Film Classification (2007) (available at: http://www.bbfc.co.uk/downloads/index.php).
Recent Conferences & Talks
Festival conference organiser for:
- ‘Cult film conference’, Kurja Polt Genre Film Festival (Kindovor, Ljubljana, April 22nd 2022)
- ‘Hong Kong Category III: international conference’, International Symposium, Offscreen Film Festival (Nova Cinema, Brussels, 12th March 2022)
- ‘All Hell is About to Break Loose: Eco-horror, environmental anxiety and genre cinema’, International Symposium, Offscreen Film Festival (Cinematek, Brussels, 11th September 2021)
- ‘Death on Film: International conference’, Offscreen Film Festival (Cinema Nova, Brussels, 23rd March 2019)
- ‘Video games and film: International conference’, Offscreen Film Festival (Cinema Nova, Brussels, 16th March 2019)
- ‘Contamination, ruination and damnation! Cult cinema and the nation’, Kurja Polt Genre Film Festival (Kindovor, Ljubljana, April 20th 2018)
- ‘The land of imitation? The curious case of Italian genre cinema’, Offscreen Film Festival (Cinema Nova, Brussels, 17th March 2018)
- ‘Trash or Treasure? The Politics of Genre Cinema’, Kurja Polt Genre Film Festival (Kindovor, Ljubljana, April 21st 2017)
- ‘42nd Street forever’ Offscreen Film Festival (Cinema Nova, Brussels, 12th March 2016)
- ‘1980s Action cinema and Reganite politics’, Offscreen Film Festival (Cinema Nova, Brussels, 20th March 2015)
- ‘Divine Trash: International Conference on Camp and Trash Cinema’, Offscreen Film Festival (Cinema RITS, Brussels, 8th March 2013)
Examples of Public Engagement
- Impact Case Study Lead: ‘Study Beyond a cult-following: Informing the content, and programming of genre-film festivals, and improving their reputation and long-term financial sustainability’, UoA32 in REF 2021. Impact Case Study Lead: ‘Developing the Educational Profile of Genre Film Festivals’, UoA36a in REF 2014.
- I have given talks at a wide variety of international film festivals to both general audiences and to filmmakers, including Babel Film Festival (Cagliari, Italy), The European Minority Film Festival (Husum, Germany) and Sunderland Shorts Film Festival (Sunderland, UK). I currently work with a number of European genre film festivals, such as Offscreen Film Festival (Brussels, Belgium), Kurja Polt Genre Film Festival (Ljubljana, Slovenia) and Abertoir Horror Festival (Wales, UK), where I organise a variety of educational initiatives. I have also worked in a consulting capacity for both the Tyne Valley Film Festival and the North East International Film Festival.
- I was a jury member for North East International Film Festival in 2021.
- Documentary appearances:
– Jorge Grau: Catalonia’s Cult Film King, High Rising Productions (2020)
– Fascism on a thread: The strange story of Nazisploitation films, High Rising Productions (2019)
– The Prince of Plasma: The Gianetto de Rossi story, High Rising Productions (2019) - I have been interviewed for a variety of sources such as BUZZ (Brussels), Radio Študent (Slovenia), Radiotelevizija Slovenija (Slovenia), and Radio Capodistria (Italian language)
Peer Review Experience
- Peter Lang; Bloomsbury; Adaptation; Edinburgh University Press; The Journal of Popular Television; Participations: Journal of Audience and Reception Studies; Screen; Wallflower (Cultographies series).
- I currently the PGR Area Lead for Film & Media at Northumbria University.
Email
russ.hunter@northumbria.ac.uk
Twitter
@sorgono
Academia.edu page
https://northumbria.academia.edu/RussHunter