We are delighted to share the details of the 5th season of Rebellious Research, hosted by Associate Professor and Centre Lead Agata Lulkwoska, and exploring Creative Practice Research in an online live series of talks and discussions.
The full seminar programme is available here: https://www.agatalulkowska.com/seminar-series
Over the last few year, the prior four rounds led to a Special Issue on Recontextualising Practice-based Research, a creative practice research manifesto, Collaborative Creative Provocation, a book on Filmmaking in Academia, another one on Fiction Filmmaking as Research (due 2026), and a book series (in progress) on Creative Practice Research.
For the fifth time, the seminar series returns with, again, some truly exquisite guests. As always, free and open to all (all sessions run online via MS Teams), this initiative aims at widening support and understanding around practice research in a friendly and inclusive manner, with some top experts sharing their experience and advice.
For more info and to be added to the mailing list, please contact Agata Lulkowska (Agata.Lulkowska@staffs.ac.uk)
All sessions are recorded and available to rewatch on the dedicated YouTube channel.
Kick-starting the fifth round is Chris Nunn (University of Birmingham) who on Wednesday, 29th October at 3:30 (UK time), will deliver a talk on ‘Practice-Based Research and Feature Film Production.‘
Details below:
Session 1: Wednesday 29th October 2024, 3:30-5pm (UK): Chris Nunn (University of Birmingham)
Link to join on MS Teams
Title: Practice-Based Research and Feature Film Production
This talk examines how universities might function as alternative production bases for feature films that commercial industry structures cannot support. Drawing on two recent University of Birmingham projects – the documentary Children of The Wicker Man (2024) and folk horror feature An Ill Wind (2026) – I argue that higher education institutions possess unique resources positioning them as sites of genuinely independent filmmaking.
Both projects emerged from archival discovery and practice-based research, prioritising investigative inquiry over commercial viability. Children developed from found documents exploring Robin Hardy’s cult film and complex creative legacy, while An Ill Wind attempted ethical folk horror through extended Shetland Islands collaboration. Neither would have necessarily secured traditional funding due to their investigative approaches, moral complexity, and development timelines allowing genuine reflexivity.
Universities offer key advantages: access to emerging talent, reduced labour costs through academic-industry hybrid models, intellectual frameworks for complex cultural questions, and freedom from immediate commercial pressures. However, this model faces limitations around funding structures, equipment access, and temporal conflicts between academic cycles and industry schedules.
The talk examines whether universities can genuinely function as alternative production spaces or inevitably become industry training grounds. Rather than mimicking industry practices, universities might develop distinctly educational approaches prioritising process over product, collaboration over hierarchy, and inquiry over entertainment. The question remains whether such approaches can create films finding audiences beyond academic contexts, and whether rebellious research can translate into genuinely rebellious cinema.
Dr Chris Nunn is Assistant Professor of Film at the University of Birmingham, creative producer of both films discussed, and Associate Editor of the Film Education Journal.