School of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies

Current students 

Applicants

 

 

Please use the Department links below to find a specific member of staff in Cultures, Languages and Area Studies.  

 

 

Image of Gianluca Sergi

Gianluca Sergi

PROFESSOR OF FILM INDUSTRIES, Faculty of Arts

Contact

Biography

My interest in Film and TV and other screen industries stems from an early fascination with cinema while growing up in Italy, where I was born in Milan on 5 June 1964. I was one of the co-founders (at age 13) of a film club for young people in my home town that had over 300 members and later became the youngest member of the managerial team running the senior film society (with over 700 members).

I worked in a variety of media outlets (especially radio where I co-produced and presented a live show for two years. I also worked in a local TV stations and print magazine). After being awarded two scholarships (one from local government for sustenance, the other from the EU for my fees) I decided to move to the UK to study Film and Literature at University (Warwick). During that time I also worked part-time on several productions, including a professional show for children that aired on Channel 4.

Following an MA in Mass Communication (Leicester) I wrote a PhD in film (on film sound, and Dolby in particular) under the supervision of Prof. Richard Maltby and Prof. Steve Neale (Sheffield Hallam). The research I carried out as part of my thesis allowed me to build a network of contacts with leading industry professionals and executives in some of Hollywood's leading companies, including Lucasfilm, Pixar, Fox, Dolby amongst others. This in turn helped me develop a keen interest in filmmakers and filmmaking practices. This interest, later extended and developed into studios practices and labour practices, as well as filmmaking, now forms the cornerstone of my current and future research. I have published four books in this area as well as a major industry report on studios practices.

I was the founder of the Institute for Screen Industries Research at the University of Nottingham in Sept. 2011 and its director until June 2024.

Expertise Summary

Teaching Summary

Over 25 years of leadership in developing programmes and delivering courses on the film and screen industries in Higher Education at all levels, from BA and MA programmes to Executive Education and… read more

Research Summary

I am currently working on a new project on the role of cinema in the context of increasing social isolation.

I have recently completed a project on the resilience of cinema through its history and published a book on this with award-winning filmmaker Gary Rytdstrom: The Endless End of Cinema

My work has also been featured in several media outlets (e.g. profile of my work in Vanity Fair: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/05/what-is-a-movie-netflix-streaming-hollywood-oscars)

Selected Publications

School of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies

University Park
Nottingham, NG7 2RD

Contact us