University of Sussex

Graduate Student, Media and Film

DPhil student

About

Despite being fascinated by cinema from an early age, and having a childhood enriched by viewing classical Hollywood and British cinema, I didn't begin studying film academically until the age of 27, when I began a BA in Film Studies at Sheffield Hallam university; closely followed by a MA in the same subject, and at the same institute. My MA dissertation looked at the first two critically ignored/despised feature films of Toronto-based, independent gay-punk filmmaker/pornographer, and film academic, Bruce LaBruce (aka Bryan Bruce): No Skin Off My Ass, and Super 8 1/2;  which, despite being part of the New Queer film cycle of the early 90s, had been largely overlooked by critics, in part due to their amateurish, low-budget look, and often graphic depictions of gay sex and male nudity. The dissertation wasn't long enough to be able to incorporate LaBruce's complete filmography, and therefore I knew I wanted to explore his entire ouvre further, and so began a DPhil in Film at University of Sussex in 2009.