[Commlist] Film History Summer school: Global Melodrama and Poetic Cinema

From 5 to 11 July 2026, the Film History Summer School will take place 
at the University of Antwerp. The programme, focusing on Global 
Melodrama and Poetic Cinema, offers approximately 20 films screened in 
optimal cinema conditions, complemented by 10–15 lectures and 
interactive seminars.
Programme: The main focus will be on Global Melodrama. From its earliest 
days, cinema has drawn on melodrama to heighten conflict, emotion, and 
suspense. Silent films used its gestures to tell stories without words, 
while the rise of the feature film relied on its patterns of crisis and 
resolution. Far from being a fixed genre, melodrama is a flexible, 
travelling mode that has shaped Hollywood and taken root across Asia, 
Africa, and Latin America. Its global circulation shows how melodrama 
brings social and political tensions to life on an emotional level, 
producing some of the most influential and enduring works in cinema 
history. The keynote speaker will be Prof. Dr. Ben Singer (University of 
Wisconsin–Madison), author of the seminal study Melodrama and Modernity.
In the second programme strand, several internationally renowned film 
critics will explore and discuss the elusive qualities of Poetic Cinema 
– or the ‘cinema of poetry’, as Pier Paolo Pasolini proposed in 1965 – a 
cinema that, while still narrative, is built on mystery, mood, texture 
and sensuality, so-called impressionistic words that are notoriously 
hard to pinpoint.
More speakers, films and lecture topics will be announced in due time. 
The entire programme will be conducted in English.

Dates and venue: 5 - 11 July 2026. The summer school takes place at the 
film theatre ‘De Cinema’, located in the city centre of Antwerp.

Target group: The summer school is aimed at Master's and PhD students as 
well as postdoctoral researchers and other scholars in film and media 
studies or related disciplines, with a strong interest in film history. 
Other interested participants are also welcome, provided they have a 
basic knowledge of film history and film theory (Bachelor level).
Study credits (ECTS): 6 credits will be awarded upon successful 
completion of the programme according to the European Credit Transfer 
System (ECTS). Credits will be awarded by the University of Antwerp 
based on completion of the preparatory assignments, full and active 
participation in all lectures, screenings, and seminars, delivery of a 
presentation, and submission of an individual paper after the course.
Tuition fee: €400. The tuition fee includes course material, coffee 
breaks, lunches, opening dinner and closing reception. It does not 
include travel, accommodation and dinners.
Application deadline: Registration for the Summer School Film History is 
open until 31 March 2026, unless the maximum capacity (25 participants) 
is reached earlier. Please make sure to allow sufficient time for the 
visa application process, if applicable.

Website and contact information: All relevant information can be found 
on the summer school website: 
https://www.uantwerpen.be/en/summer-winter-schools/film-history/ For 
further inquiries, please contact us at (filmhistory /at/ uantwerpen.be)
Organisation: Organised by the University of Antwerp (academic 
coordinator: Prof. Dr. Gertjan Willems) in collaboration with Cinea 
(Flemish Service for Film Culture), and in partnership with De Cinema 
and CINEMATEK, this summer school runs alongside Cinea´s Summer Film 
College (ZomerFilmCollege), with which it partly overlaps.

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