Bella Honess Roe

Dr Bella Honess Roe is a Lecturer in the Department of Literature and Languages at the University of Surrey. She serves as Director of Employability for the School of Literature and Languages and led the successful Athena Swan Bronze Award application for the School. Her academic background includes a BA in Philosophy from the University of Cambridge and an MA and PhD in Critical Studies from the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts. Prior to academia, she worked in film industry roles in Los Angeles and London, including script development at Lakeshore Entertainment, MGM, and Granada Film, as well as with the non-profit DocHouse.

Her research focuses on animation studies (especially animated documentary, stop motion, and gender dynamics), documentary film (voice significance, mainstream trends, and unconventional forms), and British cinema post-1980. Her monograph Animated Documentary (2013) won the Society for Animation Studies McLaren/Lambart Award for Best Book, and she has co-edited multiple volumes on animation and documentary. She teaches modules such as Transmedia Narratives, Women Behind the Screen: Gender and Labour in Film, and Understanding Animation.