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FS20250

Academic Year 2026/2027

Intro to Experimental Film (FS20250)

Subject:
Film Studies
College:
Arts & Humanities
School:
English, Drama & Film
Level:
2 (Intermediate)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Dr Temmuz Süreyya Gürbüz
Trimester:
Spring
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

This module offers students a general overview of historical and theoretical approaches to experimental cinema. It centres around the following key questions that examine what makes a film “experimental” historically, surveying its practical aspects: What do we mean by describing a film “experimental”? Is it a genre? How does “experimental film” change over time and place?
The students will develop a critical lens through their readings and screenings, being introduced to experimental methods such as, found footage, collage, visual abstraction, music video, multimedia and interactive formats of video art, and more.
The module is divided into two parts. In the first part of the module, we will look at the intersecting terminology and history of avant-garde film, particularly to do with the practices of 8mm and 16mm filmmaking. In the second part, we will focus on the impact of portable video within the sphere of experimental film.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the module, students will be able to:
- Demonstrate critical understanding of a range of experimental media approaches through writng and speaking about them.
- Have developed an understanding of the economic and historical intersections between experimental and avant-garde practices. and the social and political milieu which informed their production and reception.
- Demonstrate writing skills that engage with theoretical materials around the concepts of experimental cinema.
- Channel knowledge gained from primary and secondary material into creative work, class participation and writing.
- Work with other students to develop an understanding of project dynamics.

Indicative Module Content:

Indicative Lecture Content
Questions of Experimental Cinema
The Canon
1960s Feminist Experimental Films
1970s UK Avant Garde
New York Underground
Collective Video
TV Aesthetics and Music Video
Autoethnography
Installation and Gallery Space
Home Video: From VHS to DVD
Digital Media Convergence and DIY

Indicative Reading List
Bordwell, David and Kristin Thompson. “Experimental Film.” Film Art: An Introduction, 11th Ed., McGraw-Hill Education, 2016, pp. 369-388.
Dieter, Daneils and Jan Thoben. Video Theories: A Transdisciplinary Reader. Bloomsbury, 2022.
Foster, Gwendolyn Audrey and Wheeler Winston-Dixon. Experimental Cinema: The Film Reader. Routledge, 2002.
Garfield, Rachel. Experimental Filmmaking & Punk: Feminist Audio Visual Culture in the 1970s and 1980s. Bloomsbury, 2022.
Hawkins, Joan. Downtown Film & TV Culture 1975-2001, Intellect, 2015.

Mulvey, Laura and Sue Clayton. Other Cinemas: 1970s Experimental Film in Britain, Bloomsbury, 2024.

O’Dwyer, Jules. “From the Story of an Eye to a Cinema of Bodies.” The Routledge Companion to Gender and Affect, Routledge, 2022.

Perry, Colin. Radical Mainstream: Independent, Film, Video and Television. Intellect, 2020.

Rees, A. L. A History of Experimental Film and Video. Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.

Russell, Catherine. Experimental Ethnography: The Work of Film in the Age of Video. Duke University Press, 1999.

Westgeest, Helen. Video Art Theory: A Comparative Approach. Wiley Blackwell, 2015.



The United Nations identified seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as core to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and UCD contributes in general to SDG 4 Quality Education. Further SDGs explored within this module if relevant are listed below. A scale of 1 - 5 indicates the extent to which the SDG is covered.


 

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

12
Tutorial

12
Laboratories

24
Specified Learning Activities

12
Autonomous Student Learning

40
Total

100

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
This module is delivered on the basis of one weekly lecture, one weekly tutorial (which will include group work), and one weekly screening. Viewer discretion is advised for challenging content.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade Component repeat (in-module) Offered
Assignment(Including Essay): Final Essay Week 14 Graded No
50
 No
Participation in Learning Activities: Weekly group work during tutorials. Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10, Week 11, Week 12 Graded No
20
 No
Reflective Assignment: Critical Reflection the experience of a film event. Week 7 Graded No
30
 No

As part of UCD's student support, under the Additional Consideration policy, extensions may be available for the following assessments in the module: Assignment (including essay/poster), Portfolio, Reflective Assignment, Report(s), and Individual Project.


Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Autumn No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Feedback will be accessible through Brightspace and in-person consultation is invited.

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Spring Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Tues 09:00 - 09:50
Spring Tutorial Offering 2 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Wed 10:00 - 10:50
Spring Tutorial Offering 3 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Wed 11:00 - 11:50
Spring Tutorial Offering 4 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Wed 12:00 - 12:50
Spring Film Screening Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Tues 10:00 - 11:50
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