[PHILOS-L] Call for Proposals Philosophy on Film: Expanding Scholarly Practice and Audience Engagement Supported by a British Society of Aesthetics Small Grant
Vanessa Brassey
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Philosophy on Film: Expanding Scholarly Practice and Audience Engagement
Supported by a British Society of Aesthetics Small Grant
Organisers:
Lead: Vanessa Brassey (King’s College London, Centre for Philosophy & Art)
Advisory: Sacha Golob (King’s College London)
Advisory: Derek Matravers (The Open University)
Institutional affiliations: King’s College London; Centre for Philosophy & Art (philosophyarts.co.uk); BSA; GLAM sector.
Overview
From oral dialogue to print, to broadcast, and now digital media, new technology reshapes how philosophical ideas are formatted. Although film-based research is increasingly recognised as a rigorous scholarly format, many philosophers lack the training and resources needed to use moving-image production to extend the reach and clarity of their work.
This project offers researchers the opportunity to develop a short research film or video essay with an experienced production team, funded by the British Society of Aesthetics. Films will be approximately 10 minutes (or shorter). No prior experience in film or media production is required.
The production team (Vanessa Brassey and Jenny Bell) will produce the films and support selected researchers step by step through the process of:
1. Concept development
2. Scripting and budgets
3. Filming
4. Editing
5. Output formatting
Selected participants will be required to take part in an online masterclass reflecting on the process later in the year. This class will be advertised separately and will be open to all researchers.
Distribution
Completed films will be available open access, hosted via the Centre for Philosophy and Art, and shared through YouTube and BSA channels. All films will include subtitles and full transcripts for accessibility.
Theme
The theme of the Open Call is “A New Philosophical Perspective on Art”, where ‘art’ is understood broadly to encompass both visual and narrative media.
We are particularly interested in contributions that turn on a clean, focused philosophical move, for example:
— a neat logical insight
— a counterexample that unsettles a familiar assumption
— the identification of a previously overlooked problem
— a claim defended with elegant precision
— a clarification that brings unexpected simplicity to a difficult idea
Topics for Submission
Submissions should address any of the following themes in an artistic context:
i) representation and depiction;
ii) emotions and their expression;
iii) space and time;
iv) memory, dreams and related mental states;
v) perspectives and perspective taking.
Key Dates
Given the collaborative nature of the project, the selection process will take place in two stages, allowing room for the practical demands of filming and production.
The proposed schedule is:
• Call for Papers: opens December 2025; deadline 15 January 2026
• Notification of Shortlist: end January 2026,
• Online Meetings with shortlist candidates: early February 2026
• Notification to participants: end February 2026,
• Scripting & Filming window: April–May 2026
• Edited films completed: Summer 2026
• Masterclass online workshop session: Autumn 2026
How to Submit
We invite proposals rather than full papers. Submissions must include:
• Title;
• Abstract (approx. 200 words);
• A concise statement of the argument (this can be one line each for premises and conclusion with a short introductory paragraph, (when submitted as a prose max 350 words);
• A short contextual paragraph (max 150 words) outlining the debate you are engaging with, how your proposal sits within or departs from work in related disciplines, and any artworks essential to your discussion;
• Eight keywords;
• A brief researcher biography (maximum 100 words);
Please submit your proposal as a Word document or PDF to: vanessa.1.brassey[at]kcl.ac.uk
Eligibility
The opportunity is open to PhD students, early-career researchers, and established academics. We aim to ensure that the workshop reflects the breadth of researchers working in the field, and we actively welcome submissions from groups underrepresented in philosophy, including those who are BAME, disabled, trans or non-binary, from low-income backgrounds, or first-generation university attendees.
Diversity considerations will inform decisions at each stage of selection and planning. Graduate and early-career researchers who require travel support are encouraged to apply to the BSA Travel Stipend scheme; where applicants have already used the annual allowance or are unsuccessful, limited support may be available through this project.
Enquiries: vanessa.1.brassey[at]kcl.ac.uk
The Team
Vanessa Brassey (KCL)
Vanessa Brassey spent many years in corporate and commercial branding and creative production. She completed her PhD at King’s College London in 2020, became a Lecturer in the department, was the British Society of Aesthetics Fellow in 2022–23, and has been Director of the Centre for Philosophy and Arts since 2021. Her research focuses on emotional expression in art, with emphasis on imagination and emotional perspective. She is published in several peer-reviewed journals, and edited a collection for Routledge on The Expression of Emotion in the Visual Arts (2025). She has produced short-form philosophy films for The National Gallery, three one-hour specials on Time and Beauty, and an animated explanation of Richard Wollheim’s theory of expression. She will lead on production, administration, and participant support.
Sacha Golob (KCL)
An internationally recognised expert on post-Kantian philosophy and Co-Editor of the British Journal for the History of Philosophy, Sacha Golob has published over 40 peer-reviewed articles and is author of a monograph on Heidegger (CUP) and the forthcoming Cambridge Handbook of Continental Philosophy. He co-directs the Centre for Philosophy and Art and is collaborating with the Francis Bacon Estate on a phenomenological study of Bacon’s work.
Derek Matravers (Open University; Cambridge)
Professor of Philosophy at The Open University and Extraordinary Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge, Derek Matravers’ books include Art and Emotion (OUP, 1998), Introducing Philosophy of Art (Routledge, 2013), Fiction and Narrative (OUP, 2014), and, with Helen Frowe, Stones and Lives: The Ethics of Protecting Heritage in War (OUP, 2024). He co-edits The British Journal of Aesthetics.
Jenny Bell (Envis Media)
Our preferred video-production partner, with extensive experience producing philosophy films as well as hundreds of commercial works. Director Jen Bell has over seventeen years’ experience in filming and editing, specialising in storytelling and visual clarity. Her work is known for its collaborative and highly personal approach.
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Vanessa Brassey
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