Laurent Le Forestier

Laurent Le Forestier is a full professor at the Section of History and Aesthetics of Cinema at the Université de Lausanne (UNIL), since August 2016. Prior to this, he taught at the universities of Amiens and Rennes 2. He leads a seminar on "non-film" documents for the Master's program in Cinema Theories and Practices at UNIL since 2007. His academic work focuses on early cinema industrialization, post-WWII French film criticism, and technical aspects of film editing. He is vice-president of the French Association for Research on the History of Cinema and editorial secretary of the journal 1895. His research is part of the international Technès program, collaborating with universities in Montreal and Rennes 2.

Education & Academic Milestones:

• PhD (2000): Focused on early cinema industrialization
• Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches (2006): Addressed post-WWII French film criticism, particularly the "Bazin Transformation"

Research Interests:

• Relationship between cutting/editing and cinematic form
• Technical history of cinema
• Archive-based studies and historiography

His work bridges technical analysis, historical critique, and interdisciplinary approaches to cinema's evolution.

Key Contributions:

• Edited volumes on film editing and montage
• Research on Bazin's legacy and early 20th-century cinematic practices
• Collaborations with museums and archives (e.g., Olympic Museum, Cinémathèque Suisse)