Reading researchers exhibit video essays in New York

A series of video essay screenings co-curated by Reading academics will run in New York City, USA, this weekend (3–5 January, 2025).

Expanded Screens: The Video Essay was programmed for the Museum of the Moving Image by Professor John Gibbs (Film, Theatre & Television) and Dr Mara Oliva (History) in partnership with other video essay experts and practitioners.

This series presents a selection of work that explores the possibilities of the medium, featuring pieces from both co-curators as well as Dr Adam O'Brien (Film, Theatre & Television).  

Dr Oliva’s piece, The City of Tomorrow: Urban Futures at the New York World’s Fair of 1939, is a reflection on how the titular event represented a vision of futurist utopia amid the looming threat of World War II. It will run in Program 2: Remixing New York alongside No River by Dr O’Brien (Saturday, 4 January, 15:15 EST).

Professor Gibbs, who recently won an award for his video essay work, will present Backlot Connections as part of Program 4: Out of the Past (Sunday, 5 January, 15:15 EST). This piece cuts together different films shot on the standing sets of the Universal Studios backlot to draw out surprising historical and thematic connections.

Professor Gibbs said, “we are thrilled to be bringing our video essays to a broader audience at the Museum of the Moving Image. This screening series is a great opportunity to share how this new and exciting medium can help us reimagine film analysis and historical narrative.”

Exploring the potential of video essays

Professor Gibbs and Dr Oliva will also attend the American Historical Association Annual Meeting on 3 January, where they will participate in a panel titled Visualizing the Past: Exploring the Video Essay as a Dynamic Historical Methodology.

This interest in exploring the potential of video essays for different academic disciplines is part of a wider programme of work at the University of Reading, which includes a series of Videographic Research Summer Schools provided for staff working in disciplines beyond Screen Studies.

Image: NickCPrior via Wikimedia Commons.