Pierluigi Ercole

Pierluigi Ercole is an Associate Professor in Film Studies at Leicester Media School, De Montfort University. His research specializes in film history, audience reception, and transnational cinema, with emphasis on Anglo-Italian cultural exchange and cinema-going practices. He holds affiliations with the university's Cinema and Television History Research Centre (CATH).

Education

• BA Philosophy, Catholic University, Milan
• MA Film Studies, University of East Anglia
• PhD, University of East Anglia

Research Focus

Ercole investigates film distribution, diaspora audiences, and political cinema across Europe. His work combines archival analysis with cultural theory to examine how Italian films circulated in Britain, fascist propaganda, and postwar audience memories. Current projects explore emotional geographies of cinema-going and digital preservation of European film heritage.

His publications reveal consistent themes: transnational reception dynamics, historical audience behaviors, and political influences on film circulation. Methodologies blend empirical data with cultural theory.

Awards

• Philip M. Taylor Routledge-IAMHIST Prize (2014)
• Irish Research Council Postdoctoral Fellowship (2011-2013)
• IRCHSS New Ideas Scheme Grant (2011-2012)

Grants and Advising

As Co-Investigator on the AHRC project European Cinema Audiences: Entangled Histories and Shared Memories (2018-2021) and the British Academy/Leverhulme project Mapping European Cinema (2016-2017), he studies comparative cinema experiences. Currently supervises Matthew Carter's MRes on British imperialism in Hong Kong cinema.

Affiliations

Member of HoMER (History of Moviegoing Exhibition and Reception) and DICIS (Digital Cinema Studies network). Serves on the editorial board of Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media.