Grants and engagement

Research grants and fellowships (by year)

Olivia Khoo. National Library of Australia Fellowship, Asia Study Grant (2024).

The project investigates historical precursors to contemporary forms of Asian Australian leadership by examining key models and figures that can be found in the NLA's Asia Collections. It will propose an innovative model of cultural citizenship that can account for new genealogies of Asian Australian leadership today.

Tony Moore, Steve Vizard, Anne Pender, Mark Carroll, Mark Gibson, Stephen Thomas, Susan Provan. ARC Linkage Project. Comedy Country: Australian performance Comedy as an Agent of Change (2023-2026).

Tony Moore, Jon McCormack, Kimbal Marriott, Hamish Maxwell-Stewart, Michael Quinlan, Nick Carter, Michael Davis, Julie Brooks, Stephen Thomas. ARC Linkage Project. Conviction Politics: the convict routes of Australian democracy (2020-2025).

Belinda Smaill, Therese Davis and Chris Healy (UMelb). ARC Discovery Project. Remaking the Australian Environment Through Documentary Film and Television (2019-2021).

This project aims to investigate how documentary film, television and online media have transformed our sense of the Australian environment since the 1950s. The project will produce a historicised account of how media has fashioned contemporary environmental consciousness.

Whitney Monaghan. AFI Research Collection Research Fellowship, Queer Television in Australia: Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals on the Small Screen from 1970 to 2000 (2019).

The project examined the rise and fall of LGB representation on prime time Australian comedies and dramas from 1970 onwards in order to understand how key shifts in the politics of Australian cultural life came to influence Australian television broadcasting.

Olivia Khoo, Koichi Iwabuchi, Fran Martin and Audrey Yue. ARC Discovery Project, Transforming Cultural Identity: Media Flows Between Australia and Asia (2016-2019).

The rise of East Asian media industries, estimated to be worth US 36,120 billion and reaching at least 2 billion consumers, is changing Australian media culture. While East Asian media reach in to Australian audiences via new media, Australian media industries are reaching out to Asia via transnational co-productions. This project examined these trends in media consumption and production and analysed impacts on the cultural identities of Australian audiences and media products.

Deane Williams, Ross Gibson (UCanberra), Mick Broderick (Murdoch), John Hughes (Independent), Joseph Masco (UChicago). ARC Discovery Grant, Utilitarian Filmmaking in Australia 1945-80 (2016-2019).

'Utilitarian' describes client-sponsored, instructional and governmental filmmaking existing outside the conventional theatrical contexts by which cinema is usually defined. This project unearthed, analysed and compiled an archive of Utilitarian Filmmaking in Australia. Focused on the post-WWII decades prior to the proliferation of video in the late-1970s, the project brought to light previously unstudied aspects of the media industries.

Julia Vassilieva. ARC Discovery Early Career Research Award, Cinema and the brain: Eisenstein-Vygotsky-Luria's collaboration (2016-2019).

The first systematic and interdisciplinary study of a unique intellectual collaboration between the revolutionary Russian filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein, the founder of contemporary neuroscience Alexander Luria, and the cultural psychologist Lev Vygotsky. This project used this collaboration to identify principles for successful interdisciplinary research on the relationship between the brain sciences, cinema theory and psychology in the digital age.

Therese Davis and Chris Healy (UMelb). ARC Discovery Grant, Contemporary Indigenous Film and Television: New Frames of Understanding (2014-2016).

From The Sapphires to Redfern Now Indigenous film and television has been transforming Australian media and garnering international acclaim. This project articulated challenging ways of understanding the history and global significance of this work; introduced new Indigenous perspectives and provided an innovative take on national culture.

Constantine Verevis. Visiting Fellowship. “Popular Seriality—Aesthetics and Practice.” John-F.-Kennedy-Institut für Nordamerikastudien, Freie Universität Berlin, June-July 2014.

The Research Unit “Popular Seriality—Aesthetics and Practice,” funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), brings together researchers from the fields of American Studies, German Philology, Cultural Anthropology/European Ethnology, Empirical Cultural Studies, and Media Studies.

Audrey Yue (UMelb), Olivia Khoo, Belinda Smaill. ARC Discovery Grant, The History of Asian Australian Cinema: Diaspora, Policy and Ethics (2009-2011).

This project delivered the first study on the development of Asian Australian cinema. It evaluated the history of Asian Australian cinema from early colonial to multicultural representations, film and immigration policy developments, and the creative emergence of Asian Australian filmmakers.

Constantine Verevis, Deane Williams  and Noel King (Macquarie U). ARC Discovery Grant. Australian Film Theory and Criticism (2007-2010).

This research project mapped the local and international flows of Australian film theory and criticism. By tracing key critical positions, personnel and institutions it generated an understanding of the particularity of Australian film theory and criticism.

Community and industry engagements (by name)

Jonathan Driskell

  • Co-convener, Workshop "The Malayan Emergency in Film and Literature", Monash University Malaysia (October, 2021).
  • Convener, Workshop "Film Stardom in Southeast Asia", Monash University Malaysia (November, 2016).

Billy Head

  • Competition Judge, Melbourne Documentary Film Festival (2018, ongoing).
  • Creative Director, "Outside In Films" (2017, ongoing).

Olivia Khoo

  • Co-founder, Asian Australian Studies Research Network (AASRN), the key network for Asian Australian Studies internationally. Chair from 2023-2025.
  • Co-Chair, Screen Diversity and Inclusion Network (SDIN 2023-2025). SDIN is a network of broadcasters, screen funding agencies, business associations, guilds and industry-aligned education and training organisations who have committed to work together towards a more inclusive and diverse screen industry.
  • Panel Chair, "Women and Sexuality", Jewish International Film Festival/ Melbourne Women in Film Festival (October 2017).
  • Panel member, Roundtable with Anhui Broadcasting China at Monash University (October 2017).

Tony Moore

  • Unshackled Exhibition: (objects and digital media/augmented reality) the penultimate output of Conviction Politics (ongoing until 2027).

Claire Perkins and Therese Davis - organisers

  • "Leading the Way: Empowering Women’s Leadership in the Screen Industries"
    Panel discussion of prominent screen industry leaders including Caroline Pitcher, Film Victoria CEO, and Penny Smallacombe, Head of Indigenous, Screen Australia (February 2019).
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Belinda Smaill, James Oliver, Therese Davis, Billy Head - organisers

  • "Documenting Environments: technologies, practices and imaginaries"
    Colloquium exploring the intersection of documentary practices and research (28 Nov-30 Nov 2019).

Belinda Smaill and Deane Williams

  • Co-convenors, Visible Evidence XXX: Decentring Documentary: New Visions and Perspectives, Conference December 2024, Monash Caulfield.

Simon Troon

  • Programming Chair, Environmental Films Australia.
  • Ordinary Member – Early Career Researcher, SSAAANZ Executive Committee (2022–2024).

Julia Vassilieva

  • Co-convener, First Conference of Eisenstein International Network, INHA, Paris, (14-16 October, 2019).
  • Convener, Conference "Eisenstein for the Twenty First Century Conference", Monash Prato Centre, Italy (21-22 June, 2018).

Constantine Verevis (with J. Grossman, T. Leitch and I. Smith)

  • To Be Continued symposium (annually 2021–) https://www.monash.edu/arts/media-film-journalism/to-be-continued
  • Screen / Memory / History: XVI Biennial Conference of the Film and History Association of Australia and New Zealand, International conference (Victoria University, Melbourne 2–5 Dec. 2012) Convener: C. Verevis, Speculative Screen Histories Stream (only), with invited keynote Prof. Jonathan Gray, University of Wisconsin.

Constantine Verevis and Deane Williams - co-convenors

  • Screen Studies of Australia and Aotearoa/ New Zealand conference "The Uses of Cinema: Film, Television, Screen Media", Monash University (21-23 November, 2018).
  • International conference “Cinema at the End of the World”, Monash University (2015).