Alejandro Bachmann

Alejandro Bachmann is Professor of Film History and Film Theory at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne since 2023. Previously, he served as research assistant and later head of the 'Mediation, Research and Publications' department at the Austrian Film Museum from 2010-2019. His professional activities include film curation, writing, and academic teaching with a focus on documentary and experimental forms.

His research interests span film history, film theory, documentary cinema, experimental film practices, film education, and disability representation in film. Bachmann approaches cinema as a medium that shares similarities with brain activity's stream of thoughts and images, emphasizing the importance of trusting this flow in cinematic creation and reception. His work often examines cinema's relationship to historical moments of resistance and interruption rather than technological progress.

Bachmann's recent publications reveal a strong focus on contemporary film analysis, disability representation, and the pedagogical dimensions of cinema. His writing demonstrates particular interest in the spatial dimensions of film, sensory approaches to cinematic experience, and the relationship between film form and social realities. He frequently engages with European and particularly Austrian film contexts while maintaining a global perspective on film culture.

• Member of the selection committee for the Documentary Film section of the Diagonale - Festival of Austrian Film (2015-2021)
• Member of the selection committee of the Duisburg Film Week (2019-2020)
• Associate editor of FOUND FOOTAGE MAGAZINE and the Film Education Journal
• Mentor of Berlinale Talents Short Film Station (since 2020)
• Member of Lichtspiel - Netzwerk kulturelle Filmbildung board

Bachmann regularly provides dramaturgical consultations for feature films and documentaries, with recent artistic collaboration on Motorcity (Arthur Summereder, AUT 2021). He is developing the project 'All Disabled Selves' with Katja Lell, which examines the tension between ableism and cinema on theoretical, structural, and institutional levels. His film programming work includes significant contributions to institutions like the Austrian Film Museum, Anthology Film Archives in New York, and various international film festivals.