Film and Death: A Conceptual Knowledge Map

[Film and Death Project]

We are pleased to announce the launch of Film and Death: A Conceptual Knowledge Map, a dataset developed within the FILM AND DEATH project. 

Guided by the focus question “How does film make us think about death?,” the map visualizes the network of relations between films, filmmakers, formal strategies, concepts, and thematic subjects, highlighting their philosophical and analytical dimensions.

It is organised around three primary domains—Concept, Form, and Subject—which structure the film-philosophical relations emerging from the analysis. Designed as a dynamic network rather than a hierarchical catalogue, the map allows connections to emerge across domains, revealing patterns, affinities, and contrasts across a corpus of more than 200 works.

The same dataset can be explored through two complementary visualizations:

• Films Map – centred on individual works

• Labels Map – centred on conceptual and analytical categories

Together, these views support research design, teaching, concept formation, and curatorial or critical work, enabling users to trace conceptual and thematic connections across diverse film-philosophical contexts.

To access the Films Map, centred on individual works, click here.

To access the Labels Map, centred on conceptual and analytical categories, click here.

You can also access the dataset and the accompanying methodological report here: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18223968. 

Finally, click here to find a set of instructions on how to use the conceptual knowledge map. 

We hope the map encourages exploration, discussion, and new ways of thinking about how cinema engages with death. 

Funding

Funded by the European Union (ERC, FILM AND DEATH, 101088956). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.