Dr Hamish Ford

Dr. Hamish Ford is Senior Lecturer in, and discipline liaison for, Screen and Cultural Studies in the School of Humanities, Creative Industries, and Social Sciences at the University of Newcastle, Australia.

As a researcher, Hamish is globally known for his work on post-war European modernist cinema and the relationship between film and 20th Century European philosophy, via multiple scholarly book chapters and articles spanning two decades and the well-received 2012 book, Post-War Modernist Cinema and Philosophy: Confronting Negativity and Time. He is also known for publishing on contemporary world cinema and postcolonial film studies.

Recent publishing outputs include: co-editing with Daniel Humphrey (Texas A&M University, USA) a special journal issue on the global reception of Ingmar Bergman's cinema, featuring an extensive peer-reviewed introductory essay; refereed journal articles on famed Senegalese director and novelist Ousmane Sembène's final feature, Moolaadé (2007) and Jacques Rivette's long-mythic 1971 work, the 13-hour Out 1; and a substantial essay on the 'anti-Americanism' of famed French auteur Jean-Luc Godard's controversial 2001 film, Éloge de l’amour/In Praise of Love.

Hamish's most notable current research project is the co-editing, again with Daniel Humphrey, of The Companion to Ingmar Bergman, due for late 2024 publication by Wiley Blackwell. Featuring 32 new essays (including a chapter by the co-editors, plus a 50-plus page volume Introduction), including many by the world's premier Bergman scholars as well as new voices in the field, this will be the largest ever volume dedicated to the famed Swedish filmmaker. 

Following the above volume, Hamish's own two-plus decade record as a Bergman scholar will be further confirmed by a sole-authored book on the director's peak modernist period, History, Power, and Negation in Ingmar Bergman's 1960s Chamber Film Series: 'The Interplay of Small and Immense Forces', under contract with Edinburgh University Press for 2025 publication as part of its ReFocus: The International Directors Series. 

When it comes to new individual articles and chapters, Hamish is currently completing 'Regressive Postcolonial History and Unrealised Futures: Ousmane Sembene’s Xala' (C1) for submission to Jump Cut, another essay on Éloge de l’amour intended for Screening the Past (C1), and will soon commence work on his contribution to an upcoming edited volume on Rainer Werner Fassbinder, a chapter called ‘Screening Günther Kaufmann: Ambiguous Otherness’ (B2).

Following the above-cited Bergman-related volumes, Hamish is planning a very different large-scale project (the outline of which is already in place and select parts of which have already been published), in the form of a book on cinema's engagement with moments in revolutionary history.

When it comes to leadership roles, Hamish has been Deputy Head of School: Teaching and Learning for the School of Humanities, Creative Industries, and Social Sciences (2022-2023), and before that the School of Humanities and Social Science (2020-2021). He has also held the role of the convenor for the Bachelor of Arts (2016-2019), and head of discipline for Film, Media and Cultural Studies ( 2023-2016).

Hamish has been a key figure in the University of Newcastle's Bachelor of Arts Online, both in his capacity as former BA Program convenor and as an educator, having written and taught three online screen studies courses over many years on the FutureLearn platform. When it comes to face to face and online course creation, coordination, and teaching, since arriving at the University of Newcastle Hamish has substantively re-written and subsequently updated the film and screen studies curriculum, and consistently received excellent responses as indicated by Faculty, staff, and student originated feedback (including multiple nominations in the 'best lecturer' awards), receiving student satisfaction scores well above the School and University averages. 

In addition to academic research in and around the area of film studies, Hamish is also the author of magazine, newspaper and online articles covering film, media, culture, and politics in local publications such as the Australian Book Review, The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, ABC Drum, Online Opinion, and New Matilda, plus Spiked! (UK) and ZNet (USA).

Research Expertise

- Post-war modernist cinema - Contemporary world cinema - Cinematic time and negativity - Cinema and postcolonialism - European philosophy and film studies - Cinema, the city and modernity.

Teaching Expertise

- Postcolonial and world cinema - Post-war European cinema - Screen authorship - Film and philosophy - Cinema and the city - Documentary film - Hollywood and cinema of the Americas - Media industries.

Administrative Expertise

- HDR and Honours supervision and completion - Deputy Head of School, Teaching and Learning (School of Humanities and Social Science, 2020–21; School of Humanities, Creative Industries, and Social Sciences, 2022–) - Program convenor, Bachelor of Arts (Faculty of Education and Arts, 2016–2019) - Head of Discipline, Film, Media and Cultural Studies (2012–2015).