Frances Pheasant-Kelly

Dr Frances Pheasant-Kelly is a Reader in Film and Screen Studies at the University of Wolverhampton, where she also serves as Director of the Centre for Film, Media, Discourse and Culture and Course Leader for the MA Film and Screen program. Her academic journey began with a 25-year career in Medical Biochemistry, followed by a first-class BA in Photography and a PhD in Film Studies from the University of East Anglia.

• Education:
  • PhD, Film Studies (University of East Anglia, 2000–2008)
  • BA (Hons), Photography (University of Wolverhampton, 1996–1999)
  • Fellowship of Institute of Biomedical Science (Birmingham City University, 1984–1985)

Her research focuses on American cinema, especially abject spaces, trauma representation, and post-9/11 themes, as well as intersections between science and visual culture, medical humanities, and genres like the Western and science fiction. Her work explores gender, race, and socio-political contexts in films, with notable publications on Blade Runner, James Bond, and Kathryn Bigelow. Recent projects include a Leverhulme Fellowship and studies on transhumanism in 21st-century sci-fi.

• Notable Scientific Awards:
  • Leverhulme Fellowship (2025–2027)

She supervises doctoral research on topics such as trauma in post-9/11 cinema, dementia and filmmaking, and gender in Andrea Arnold’s films. Her professional activities include editorial roles for BMJ Medical Humanities, peer reviewing for journals like New Review of Film and Television Studies, and organizing conferences on Pre-Code Hollywood and HR Giger’s posthumanism.