Dr Sue Sudbury

I am an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Media and Communication where I teach on our Masters in Directing Film and Television course and supervise a number of doctoral students doing practice-led research. My current students are using a range of different methods to conduct their research including film, animation, audio production and scriptwriting. One of my students, Dr. Olugbenga Ajayi, had a successful completion with his study of screenwriting practices in Nigerian cinema. In my own doctoral research I used participatory film to research the everyday lives of women living in rural India. Outputs included two journal articles on visual research and participatory filmmaking methods and the film Village Tales won the 2016 AHRC Research in Film Award for Innovation with the jury stating that ‘this project is a brilliant example of the edifying power of research through film’. I am now leading Faculty initiatives to define and expand practice-based research and welcome enquiries from people interested in undertaking practice-led PhD research at Bournemouth. My professional practice is based on my work as a documentary filmmaker and I run the production company, Sequoia Films. As a documentary producer/director many of the series and singles I have produced and directed for the BBC, C4 and ITV have won awards. I have just finished making a feature documentary, Indian Space Dreams, in co-production with Spring Films and Haviland Digital which premiered at Bertha DocHouse in London. I was the BA (Hons) Television Production degree Level Co-ordinator for twelve years, and instrumental in course design and delivery, and played a key role in building Bournemouth’s reputation for being one of the most important centres for television and film education in the UK. In taking on our Department's Global Engagement Lead role and our successful application for Athena SWAN's Bronze award, I have been instrumental in forging partnerships with international universities and keeping gender and diversity issues at the forefront of our work at Bournemouth.