[Commlist] Carol Morley Symposium: Call for Papers

*Call**for Papers*

*Carol Morley Symposium*

BLOC, Queen Mary University of London, 2 March 2024

*Keynote speaker: Dr Sarah Smyth, University of Essex: *

**

*‘Carol Morley: Searching for Women in Cinema’*

The critical success of Carol Morley’s most recent film /Typist Artist 
Pirate King/ (2023), and her industrious work in promoting it, provide a 
timely opportunity to reflect on Morley’s filmography and the themes 
that pervade her work. /Typist Artist Pirate King/ deals with themes of 
family relationships and loss, topics that have been woven throughout 
Morley’s films since her directorial debut /Girl/ (1993), made when 
Morley was a student at Central Saint Martins. Many of her films have 
been inspired by real-life subjects and newspaper clippings. Morley’s 
interest in crafting narratives from non-fiction material is evident in 
her short films, as well as her documentaries, including the critically 
acclaimed /Dreams of a Life/ (2011), and her fiction films such as /The 
Falling/ (2014) and /Typist Artist Pirate King/ (2023). Whilst 
substantial research has been conducted by Morley in the writing of her 
films, the films themselves have received limited academic attention.

This one-day symposium will begin to explore the themes in Morley’s work 
along with her aesthetics and processes. Further, it will examine 
philosophical and ethical approaches to her filmmaking and the subject 
matter of her films, the archives that Morley has drawn on (such as the 
Wellcome Trust for /TAPK/), and the growing influence that Morley has in 
the film industry.

*Topics for papers may include, but are not limited to:*

  * Film studies approaches (stars, genre, authorship, etc)
  * Morley’s early work and short films
  * Morley’s research methodologies and work with archival collections
  * Ethical issues and challenges
  * Explorations of motherhood in Morley’s films
  * Depictions of girlhood and sexuality
  * The significance of place, the home, and origins
  * Philosophical and psychoanalytical approaches to Morley’s films
  * Feminist approaches to filmmaking and storytelling
  * Memory and themes of loss and grief
  * Experiences of time and the use of flashbacks
  * Morley’s writing and continuation of exploring themes of loss and
    grief in her memoir, /7 Miles Out/
  * The use of music and soundtracks
  * How race features in Morley’s work: diasporic identities,
    inter-racial and inter-ethnic relationships in /Dreams of a Life/,
    /Out of Blue/, and other works
  * Treatment of mental illness in /The Falling, Dreams of a Life/,
    /TAPK, Edge/
  * Documentary approaches in /The Alcohol Years/ and /Dreams of a Life/
  * Friday Film Club and Morley’s curation of a lockdown cinema
  * Morley as a British film industry mogul!

Abstracts for 20-minute papers should be approx. 250 words, accompanied 
by a short bio.

*Deadline for submissions: 31^st January 2024*

**

Please send submissions and any questions to the event organisers 
Professor Lucy Bolton and Jade Evans at (l.c.bolton /at/ qmul.ac.uk) 
<mailto:(l.c.bolton /at/ qmul.ac.uk)>

The Symposium will conclude with a wine reception courtesy of Edinburgh 
University Press, publishers of the /Visionaries/ book series.

https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/series-visionaries-the-work-of-women-filmmakers/ 
<https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/series-visionaries-the-work-of-women-filmmakers/>

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