Research


Research at the Film University focuses on film as a totality of audiovisual media – from cinema, television and video to installations and VR experiences. As Germany’s only film university, we consider it a privilege and a challenge to pool and promote research with, in and about film. 

Three approaches are in dialogue with each other: academic, arts-based and applied practice-related research. This multiperspectivity forms the common basis of our work on the medium. It enables us to expand creative scope and establish new paths in the art of film, to deepen aesthetic sensitivity and develop practical innovations, to preserve cultural heritage, to monitor current media change, and to critically reflect on the social roles of audiovisual media.

In the field of academic research, film studies, media studies and communication studies complement each other. The research agenda includes media analysis, media criticism, theory building, historiography, and empirical research on historical and current media developments. Arts-based research emphasizes the connection between knowledge, aesthetic experience, and artistic practice. It interprets the process of artistic creation as a process of cognition and film as a medium for thought and reflection. Practice-based and technological research aims at developing new technologies, processes, and tools for practice.

New kinds of insights into audiovisual media emerge from the mutual inspiration of artistic experimentation, practice-based development, and academic reflection. By involving students in research processes at an early stage, our graduates gain unique insights and perspectives.

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