Film Matters

Home
Film Matters

The magazine for future film scholars. Film Matters is an exciting film magazine, celebrating the work of undergraduate film scholars.

It is published three times a year, by students and for students, and each issue contains feature articles, as well as a healthy reviews section. In addition, with an undergraduate audience in mind, Film Matters will include occasional service-oriented pieces, such as profiles of film studies departments, articles that engage the undergraduate film studies community and prepare students for graduate study in this field, and resources and opportunities that undergraduate scholars can pursue. In an effort to give undergraduate scholars real-world, applied-learning experiences, all Film Matters feature submissions will undergo a peer review process (typically managed by undergraduate film and media students). We strive for inclusivity in all areas of our operations. Broadly speaking, we seek to empower undergraduates from diverse backgrounds (race, ethnicity, gender/gender identity/gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, and economic status are our primary concerns), engaging our mentors/editors from varied experiences of academia (community colleges, private colleges, public universities, tenure track, non-tenure track, adjunct, graduate student, etc.). If you want to write or edit for us, we want to work with you. We feel, however, during these changemaking times, that it is particularly important to state that Black Lives Matter. The views and opinions of all posts, including reviews and interviews, are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect those of the editors, the editorial board, or the advisory board. Film Matters is published by Intellect with support from the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

26/06/2026

On Film Matters, a hot take by Mia Mattern about Uptown Girls (Boaz Yakin, 2003):

"The film’s articulation of grief in young women transcends the shallow, superficial judgments cast by critics who fail to see beyond their own gendered biases. Film reviewers like Geoff Pevere trivialize the emotional complexity of the characters’ experiences, reducing their grief to something inconsequential and dismissible. This critique reflects a broader societal tendency to ignore a woman’s ability to contain multitudes if she is presented within the stereotypically feminine."

Uptown Girls is a 2003 romantic comedy in which a New York City socialite, Molly Gunn (played by Brittany Murphy), loses her fortune and is forced into regular employment as a nanny for an uptight little girl named Ray (played … Continue reading →

20/06/2026

Film Matters is happy to announce the TOC of FM 16.2 (2025). Here, you will find peer-reviewed features by:

-Bridget Bell (University of British Columbia)
-Ronja Blight (Queen Mary University of London)
-Kae Cohen (Gannon University)
-Joseph D’Andrea (Adelphi University)
-Faith Hardie (Wilfrid Laurier University)
-Jemima Kent (Queen Mary University of London)
-Carol Liddle (Chapman University)
-Emma Soncini (Queen Mary University of London)
-Yeliz Zaifoglu (University of Brighton)
-Vernita Zhai (Stanford University)

A featurette by:

-Holley Anne Brabble (University of North Carolina Wilmington)

Book reviews by:

-Izzie Barrett (University of North Carolina Wilmington)
-Laura Marcy (Queen Mary University of London)

And DVD/Blu-ray reviews by:

-Lauren Cavalieri (Chapman University)
-Dylan Limp (Chapman University)

Feature author interviews will follow soon! In the meantime, congrats to our authors, their mentors, and their schools! Please think about becoming an FM author yourself! We would love to work with you.

Film Matters is pleased to amplify the TOC of 16.2, jointly edited by students at Chapman University and the University of North Carolina Wilmington, with support from the University of Utah. In this issue, you will find the following feature … Continue reading →

19/06/2026

Film Matters is pleased to announce the 2025 Masoud Yazdani Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Film Scholarship honorees. Please follow the link for more details!

Many thanks to our panel of judges for their expert work: Devin Glenn, Daiyaan Hutson, Merritt Mecham, Nora Price, and Mihir Pyakuryal! Judging for the 2026 award will be underway soon, so watch this space!

University of Utah - Department of Film & Media Arts University of Utah College of Fine Arts

Film Matters is particularly pleased to celebrate the winner of the 2025 Masoud Yazdani Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Film Scholarship, as determined by our volunteer panel of judges: Francesca C. DiBona for her FM 15.2 (2024) article “Feedback, Fugitivity, and Overexposure: Monique …...

12/06/2026

On Film Matters, an interview with FM 16.1 author Lydia Fraser:

"I usually gravitate toward media I feel some sort of personal connection to, so, especially in writing about film, those are often also the types of media I enjoy studying more in depth. It seems that shouldn’t be the case, when I’m writing academically, but I think that connection is what truly allows me to become fully engaged in my own writing. As an aspiring scholar, I am also interested in the potential for academia to offer platforms for understudied identities and stories, which is another reason I think holding a personal stake in at least the subject of which you are writing about is important."

Film Matters: Please tell us about your article that is being published in Film Matters. Lydia Fraser: My article, “Exploring Elusive Identities in Wong Kar-wai’s Happy Together,” is a piece that analyzes Happy Together (1997) as an intersectional film that … Continue reading →

05/06/2026

On Film Matters, a review of Criterion's Drugstore Cowboy (1989) by Amanda Cowan (Georgia Tech):

"This visual noise is a disturbing beauty. Each pill looks like a piece of candy that I want to pop in my mouth . . . until I remember I’m staring at an addictive substance. Each hallucination, with its floating cows and white picket fences, feels appealing . . . until I remember the needle that was just injected. This film is no glorification of how “cool” drugs are, though, coming in the wake of the post-Reagan era where Just Say No just didn’t work. Instead of fearmongering, the film is educating (and entertaining)."

It is reported that people, lying on their deathbeds, see a blinding light that is often thought to be heaven. Perhaps, then, the neon greens and blues flashing on the incapacitated Bob Hughes (played by a young Matt Dillon) represent … Continue reading →

29/05/2026

Film Still Friday! Courtesy of Heejin Han (University of Utah):

"By sharing kimbap, the students engage in a quiet but powerful act of defiance against the school’s exclusionary authority, choosing human connection over state-mandated borders."

https://www.filmmattersmagazine.com/2026/05/08/film-still-friday-happyend-2024-by-heejin-han/

University of Utah - Department of Film & Media Arts University of Utah College of Fine Arts

This still from Neo Sora’s Happyend (2024) captures a rare moment of transnational solidarity. By sharing kimbap, the students engage in a quiet but powerful act of defiance against the school’s exclusionary authority, choosing human connection over state-mandated borders. Author biography ...

22/05/2026

Film Still Friday! Courtesy of Brandon Long (University of Utah):

"I’ve chosen this particular image for several reasons: pay attention to the preservation of depth, the vibrant colors, and implied storytelling of its subjects. The sculpted gold armor suggests vanity as well as the expectations of greatness upon this young character. The woman, his mother, is shrouded in white, creating a ghostly effect, which elevates her as a watchful spectre."

University of Utah - Department of Film & Media Arts University of Utah College of Fine Arts

The ultimate cinematic retelling of Arthurian legend, Excalibur (1981) is often lauded for its impeccable cinematography — truly there are too many gorgeous stills from this epic to pull for a single inclusion this week. I’ve chosen this particular image … Continue reading →

08/05/2026

On Film Matters, an interview with FM 16.1 author Nadiya Jean McFadden:

"My lifelong joy of reading easily translated into a love for film and a passion for writing. As someone who can be perfectly content watching four films in a day or reading a novel for twelve hours straight, I had to find a way to share my thoughts and feelings on the media I was consuming."

Film Matters: Please tell us about your article that is being published in Film Matters. What research and/or methodologies do you incorporate in your article? Nadiya Jean McFadden: My article is titled: “Before, After, and the Spaces in Between: An … Continue reading →

06/05/2026

Film Matters announces CFP 18.3 (open theme), for consideration in issue FM 18.3 (2027). Deadline is September 1, 2026. Follow the link for more details. And please help spread the word!

Film Matters announces open call for papers from current undergraduates, authors who have been invited to revise and resubmit previous submissions (including authors who did not make it past our prescreening for a previous call), and recently graduated undergraduates for consideration in … Continu...

Address

Website

http://www.filmmattersmagazine.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Film Matters posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Want your business to be the top-listed Media Company?

Country:

City: