LibGuides: ACRL/EBSS Library Resources for Communication Studies (LRCS): Film Studies

About

This guide serves as a guide to assist faculty, students, and librarians in locating materials in the area of film studies. Film studies is a very broad and interdisciplinary field and there are many resources, both academic and non-academic, that may be used.

Current Page Editor: Molly Strothmann

Suggested Subject Keywords

The following is a short list of Library of Congress subject headings that will be helpful when performing a subject search on film studies. Motion Pictures is the standard subject heading for film (use Moving Pictures for print materials before 1978).

Please consult the Library of Congress subject headings for more ideas.

Research Databases

See Databases - Communication Studies, Social Sciences to get started

Best Bets:

Film & Television Literature Index 1987-present Also limited coverage 1970-86. Covers writing about film and television for scholars, students and the general public. Subjects include film & television theory, preservation & restoration, writing, production, cinematography, technical aspects, reviews.
FIAF International Film Archive Offers in-depth coverage of the world’s foremost academic and popular film and television journals. Divided into three areas: general subjects, individual films, and biographies. This is a good source for European films. Available online from Ovid.
Film Literature Index 1973-current This is a periodical index to the international literature of film, television and video. Geared for the specialist, or general reader knowledgeable in film/TV. It is supported by the University at Albany- SUNY. Currently available in print on a subscription basis; a retrospective, fully searchable online version (1976-2001) is currently available for free.

Additional Useful Databases:

Alternative Press Index (fee-based) A bibliographic database of journal, newspaper, and magazine articles from over 300 international alternative, radical, and left periodicals. Born of the New Left, the API was launched in 1969 to provide access to the emerging theories and practices of radical social change.
American Film Institute. Catalog of Feature Films Includes entries on nearly 60,000 American feature-length films and 17,000 short films produced from 1893-2011. It also includes AFI AWARDS honorees from 2000 through 2014.
American Film Institute Collection This Library of Congress collection of more than 27,000 titles primarily includes "theatrical features and shorts (1894-present), as well as substantial numbers of newsreels, documentaries, and television programs." Some especially significant collections are the Black Film Collection (more than 100 films starring or produced by African Americans), and the United Artists Collection of Warner Brothers (approximately 1,500 shorts and 1,175 features from 1920-1950).
Art Index (fee-based) Covers Western and non-Western art, feminist art, contemporary art, art criticism, costumes, textiles, and crafts. Art Index is international in scope. Art Index offers full text, abstracts and indexes.
Art Index Retrospective (fee-based) Includes content for more than 55 years of art journalism, from more than 600 publications. Coverage includes English-language periodicals, yearbooks and museum bulletins published in English, French, Italian, German, Spanish and Dutch. 1929-1984
Arts and Humanities Citation Index One of the Web of Science databases. Periodical index which includes citation index, source and corporate index, permuterm subject index. Also includes guide and journal lists. Available through Clarivate Analytics. 1976-
Performing Arts Periodicals Database (fee-based) Indexes around 400 scholarly and trade journals, magazines, books, and newspapers covering theater, dance, film, television, stagecraft, broadcast arts, storytelling, and more. It draws from both current files and selected backfiles to 1864 and 134 publications are included in full text. Available through ProQuest
MLA International Bibliography (fee-based) Covers literature, language and linguistics, folklore, film, literary theory and criticism, dramatic arts, as well as the historical aspects of printing and publishing. Listings on rhetoric and composition and the history, theory and practice of teaching language and literature are also included. Available from EBSCO, Cengage, and ProQuest.
Readers' Guide Full Text Select (fee-based) Comprehensive index of the most popular general-interest periodicals published in the United States and Canada. 2002-
Reader’s Guide Full Text Mega (fee-based) Comprehensive indexing of over 450 periodicals published in the United States and Canada. Full-text is available for 250 periodicals going back to 1994. Available through EBSCOHost.

Encyclopedias, Handbooks, and Dictionaries

American Film Institute Desk Reference by George Ochoa; Melinda Corey; Clint Eastwood (Introduction by); Jean Picker Firstenberg (Preface by)
Corey, Melinda, George Ochoa, and Gene Brown. New York: DK, 2002.
Cinema Studies: The Key Concepts
Hayward, Susan. New York: Routledge, 2013.
Critical Dictionary of Film and Television Theory by Pearson, Roberta E, and Philip L. Simpson
Pearson, Roberta E. Routledge, 2014.
Film and Television
Emmons, Mark. Westport, Conn: Libraries Unlimited, 2006.
The Film Encyclopedia
Katz, Ephraim, and Ronald D. Nolen. New York: Collins Reference, 2012.
International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers
Pendergast, Tom, and Sara Pendergast. Detroit: St. James Press, 2000.

Open Educational Resources (OERs)

Understanding Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication
No attribution, University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing, 2016. Contains chapter (8) on Movies. Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.

Key Journals and Trade Publications

Cahiers du Cinema, Les 1951-current Major French film review periodical
Camera Obscura Scholarly journal on feminism, film, visual media, and film theory. Published three times a year. Available through Project Muse.
Cinema Journal Quarterly journal that publishes scholarship in all areas of media studies including film, television, radio, comics, video games, and digital media.
Cineaste Quarterly journal which focuses on the politics, culture and art of film. It is known for its in-depth interviews.
CINEJ Cinema Journal Open access journal publishing original research in the fields of film and media studies.
Film & History: an Interdisciplinary Journal of Film and Television Studies A non-profit, peer-reviewed journal affiliated with the American Historical Association. Published continuously since 1971, it is one of the oldest journals in its field. It publishes two issues annually: Summer (June/July) and Winter (December).
Film Comment Features reviews and analysis of mainstream, art-house, and avant-garde filmmaking from around the world.
Film Criticism Open access, peer-reviewed, online journal whose aim is to bring together scholarship in the field of cinema and media studies.
Film History: An International Journal Focuses on the historical development of the motion picture and the social, technological, and economic context in which this has occurred. Its areas of interest range from the technical and entrepreneurial innovations of the early and pre-cinema experiments, through all aspects of the production, distribution, exhibition, and reception of commercial and non-commercial motion pictures. Available from Project Muse.
Film Quarterly Publishes scholarly analyses of international and Hollywood cinema as well as independent film, including documentary and animation. The journal also revisits film classics; examines television, digital, and online media; reports from international film festivals; reviews recent academic publications; and on occasion addresses installations, video games and emergent technologies.
Films in Review Not scholarly in nature. A good source for reviews and opinion content. The online archives go back to 1999.
Journal of Cinema and Media Studies The Journal of Cinema and Media Studies is the peer-reviewed, scholarly publication of the Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS). The journal was renamed (from Cinema Journal) in October 2018.
Journal of Popular Film and Television From the publisher: "The primary purpose of the Journal of Popular Film and Television is to provide a representative cross section of critical-cultural perspectives and to broaden the existing literature to include the “public visions” of popular filmmakers and television showrunners, economic and industrial factors, and an emphasis on the complex role of audiences in the development of film and television as art forms and wide-reaching sociocultural forces."
Quarterly Review of Film and Video (QRFV) Scope is interdisciplinary and international. Publishes historical, theoretical, and critical essays in the fields of film, video, and digital imagery. Features book reviews and interviews.
Sight and Sound A trade publication from the British Film Institute with an international and interdisciplinary scope. A good source for film reviews.

Film Studies Web Sites

All Movie Guide: AMG Credits for 220,000 films plus 25,000 biographies.
Film Festivals The premier portal site for film festivals from around the world.
IndieWIRE Website for independent filmmakers and film aficionados. Focuses on updates on independent film projects, breaking news and in-depth coverage. Has a very good section on world cinema. Also has an email ‘zine which offers daily updates on indie film news.
The Internet Movie Database: IMDb The premier film portal site offers credits for over 370,000 films and 300,000 biographical records, as well as news, movie show times, ratings, and much more.
Motion Picture Licensing Corporation An independent copyright licensing service. The MPLC is exclusively authorized by many major Hollywood film studios and production companies to provide “umbrella licenses” to non-profit organizations for public performance of DVDs and videos.
National Film Preservation Foundation Website for the non-profit, independent National Film Preservation Foundation. http://www.filmpreservation.org/ Provides links to the Public Moving Image Archives and Research Centers
U.S. Copyright Office Provides informational publication on copyright, application forms, latest updates on copyright laws and licensing, and copyright registration.
Variety Premier source for entertainment news. Comprehensive website for the film, television and music industry. Some of the features of Variety are the reviews, “hot topics” and obituaries.

Associations and Organizations

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The professional and honorary organization of the film industry. The academy has over 6,000 members. Its website features links to the Academy Awards, the Margaret Herrick Library, the Academy Film Archive, grants, awards, and the indexes to the motion picture credits.
American Film Institute (AFI) The AFI is a national organization that is dedicated to advancing and preserving film, television and other moving images. The AFI website is a good source for educational opportunities and jobs in the film industry.
American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Founded in Hollywood in 1919 with the dual purpose of advancing the art and science of cinematography and bringing cinematographers together to exchange ideas, discuss techniques and promote the motion picture as an art form — a mission that continues today.
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) To protect and support the industry, the major motion picture studios formed an organization in 1922 – now the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) – that has served as the voice and advocate of the motion picture and television industry around the world. MPAA has evolved with the times in order to promote the success of our core mission: advancing the business and art of filmmaking, protecting the creative and artistic freedoms of filmmakers, and ensuring the satisfaction of our audiences worldwide.
National Film Board of Canada The public agency that produces and distributes films and other works that reflect Canada to the Canadians and the world. The NFB was created in 1939. The NFB has over 6,000 English original productions and over 4,500 French productions.
National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) National Film Development Corporation of India is the central agency established to encourage the good cinema movement in the country. The primary goal of the NFDC is to plan, promote and organize an integrated and efficient development of the Indian film industry and foster excellence in cinema.
Producers Guild Association (PGA) The Producers Guild of America is the non-profit trade group that represents, protects and promotes the interests of all members of the producing team in film, television and new media.
Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Labor union for actors founded in 1933. The SAG negotiates equitable compensation, working conditions and benefits for actors. The organization provides direction for new actors, health plan, and workshops and seminars.
Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS) (Conference) Conference information for the Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS)
Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) Society for those interested in or working with the technical aspects of the motion picture and television industry.
Writers Guild Foundation Founded in 1966, the Writers Guild Foundation is the premier resource for emerging writers and movie and TV lovers in Hollywood. Boasting a busy calendar of high-value events and a vast, seemingly bottomless toolbox for writers, the Foundation is unmatched in its mission to promote and preserve the craft, history, and voices of screen storytelling.

Research Centers

Louis B. Mayer Library, American Film Institute, Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1969, has extensive collections in the areas of moving pictures, television, video, cable, and satellite. Holdings include over 10,000 books, and over 5,000 unpublished motion picture scripts.
Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Beverly Hills, California. The MHL was founded in 1927 and specializes in collections on motion picture history, biographies, and motion picture production. One of the important collections is the Academy Film Archive which includes over 10 million photographs and over 11,000 scripts.
Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive This archive has an extensive collection of films and videos (over 10,000), and many other film studies materials, such as (among many others) 7,500 posters, and 1,500 audiotapes of filmmakers that have visited the archive. The collection also houses 95,000 "documentation files" with materials such as (among others) press kits, film reviews, and articles on filmmakers and various genres.
Library of Congress: Motion Picture and Television Reading Room This site provides an overview of the film and television resources available at the Library of Congress. Includes links to online finding aids, as well as digital materials from the collection (such as online films available through the American Memory project).
Insight: Collections and Research Centre, National Museum of Photography, Film, and Television, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Extensive collection on photography, film and television. Insight focuses on British filmmaking. The collection includes filmmaking equipment, film posters, Bollywood posters, and timelines on the progress of film production over the years.
UCLA Film and Television Archives, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. This is the nation’s second largest collection of media materials and the largest of any university in the world. The collection holds over 220,000 television and motion picture titles. The FTA holds many of the major motion picture production companies films and many independent films.
Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research This archive has 15,000 motion pictures and television shows and tapes, several thousand sound recordings and two million promotional graphics and photographs. It also includes more than 300 manuscripts from film and television actors, designers, directors, producers and production companies, and writers. The strongest collections focus on the film industry from 1930 to 1960, popular theater from the 1940s and 1950s, and television between the 1950s and 1970s.