Jim Thompson CV
Student-focused lecturer and instructor with 13 years’ experience teaching undergraduate courses in cinema studies, media studies and film production; RMIT University (School of Media & Communication), Monash University (Art, Design, Architecture), SAE Creative Institute (School of Film and Animation). Committed to delivering an exceptional student experience along with high level student engagement and educational outcomes. Committed to meaningful collaborations with industry. Committed to excellence and originality in creative vision.

I have a PhD in Fine Arts from Monash University in the School of Art, Design and Architecture and my research focus involves a deep study of theories from the silent era of cinema history and thinking through their respective continued relevance in today’s digital, technological environment. I’m also curious about the nexus between traditions of experimental film and the avant-garde, and cinema that is considered to be B-grade, trashy, or otherwise marginalised. Furthermore, my scholarship extends to literary adaptation to cinema; specifically the aesthetic influence of literary figures such as Edgar Allan Poe on the trajectory of cinematic narrative formulations.

My creative work is both narrative based and experimental, and consists of both digital and analogue techniques. Key works traverse multiple genres such as black comedy, drama, and horror and speak to themes of deception, memory, truth and their associated unreliability, and the phenomenon of liminal experience (the feeling of in-betweenness, disorientation, or belonging elsewhere). My work has been exhibited in film festivals across the globe passing significant curatorial scrutiny, and I have publications in major international academic journals passing peer review.

EDUCATION

PhD Fine Arts
2021
Monash University (MADA)
“This Magic Moment: The Aesthetic Devises of Jean Epstein and Edgar Allan Poe Reimagined”
Thesis Supervisors: Dr Michael Vale, Dr Deane Williams 

Bachelor of Communication (Media) 1st Class Honours
2010                                   
RMIT University
Honours Supervisor: Dr Adrian Danks

PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS

Faculty Development Lead & National Unit Coordinator: Screenwriting                     Current
SAE Creative Institute                               
School of Film and Animation

Department Coordinator: Film                                                           2022 – 2024
SAE Creative Institute
School of Film and Animation

Tutor / Studio Leader (Casual) RMIT University                                         2011 – 2021
School of Media and Communication

Tutor / Lecturer (Casual) Monash University                                            2018 – 2021  
Monash Art, Design and Architecture

                                                     
RECENT PUBLICATIONS

"This Magic Moment: The Aesthetics of Jean Epstein and Edgar Allan Poe." Screenworks; Online Publication of Practice Research in Screen Media. Vol 13.1, 2023. ISSN 2514-3123
https://screenworks.org.uk/archive/volume-13-1/this-magic-moment-the-aesthetics-of-jean-epstein-and-edgar-allan-poe

“Gazing or Glancing: Film Theory in the Age of Online Learning.” Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies. Sage Journals 2022
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13548565221148102
NB: published with multiple authors: J Douglas (RMIT), A Kannas (RMIT)

“Neither Head nor Tail: Photogénie, Figuration, Sensation.” Screening the Past, issue 46 (December 2022).
http://www.screeningthepast.com/issue-46/

"Photogénie: The Heuretic Method and the Sketching Process." Sightlines: Filmmaking in the Academy, issue 3 (2021) Australian Screen Production Education and Research Association ISSN: 2653-1801

"Alternative Treasures: The Fall of the House of Usher and The Terror within Roger Corman’s Poe Cycle." Journal of Asia-Pacific Pop Culture 6, no. 1 Penn State University Press (2021): 168-90.

AWARDS AND COMMENDATIONS

Letters of Commendation (Dean, School of Media and Communication, RMIT University)     2019, 2020

Vice-Chancellor’s List Award                                                           2010
Candidate finished in the top 2% of RMIT Higher Education Students

CONFERENCES

ASPERA 2024 (in preparation)
Swinburn University
Conference Paper
Colonizing Creative Ownership: Literacy, creative agency, and what we should be thinking about AI.
w/ Strutts Psyridis

Poco Film Festival Talks 2024
Poco Film Festival
Industry Talks & Seminar:
The Impact of AI: A Humanist Perspective

Revelation Perth International Film Festival 2024
Academic Conference
SAE University College Perth
Conference Convenor | Organiser

PopCAANZ 2019
RMIT University
Conference Paper
Premature Burial: B-Movies, Hidden Treasures, and Corman’s Deviations

ASPERA 2019
AFTRS Sydney
Panel Discussion
Ticking All the Boxes; Screen Production Research, Academic Rigor and Audience
w/ Dr Patrick Kelly, Prof. Marsha Berry (RMIT)

PopCAANZ 2018
Auckland University of Technology
Conference Paper
Jean Epstein’s Photogénie: A Heuretic Theory of Film

SSAAANZ The Uses of Cinema 2018
Monash University
Conference Paper
The Cinema of Jean Epstein: Sensational, Transcendental, Material, Forceful


TEACHING / LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE

SAE Creative Institute
School of Film and Animation Committee                                                  current
Responsible for the academic quality management and compliance of a busy and growing nation-wide film and animation department. As a member of the committee, I have helped shape and develop the curriculum and academic direction for SAE. I am one of three representatives from the film department which spans six campuses across five states and Dubai. We have been instrumental in SAE’s attainment of University College status awarded by TEQSA.

Faculty Development Lead                                                                current
The Faculty Development Lead has been responsible for the day-to-day management of academic staff, including professional development and mentorship. As FDL, I have undertaken various projects assigned by the Dean’s office such as a working paper on SAE’s approach to project-based learning, the roll-out of a faculty peer-observation framework for professional development in the classroom, the development of an SAE-wide research group to foster a culture of research and scholarship in line with SAE’s newly assigned status of University College.

Department Coordinator Film                                                            2022 - 2024
The Department Coordinator has been responsible for the day-to-day management of academic staff, including professional development and mentorship, as well as overseeing student academic progression, engagement and success in an ever-evolving academic and industry environment. Industry outreach and collaboration including work experience and student portfolio development has also been an area of initiative and value-add for the Institute.  

Screenwriting / Storytelling for the Screen
Unit Developer / Unit Coordinator / Lecturer                  
current
Responsible for course design of two units; one a Stage 1 Screenwriting Introduction, the other a newly implemented Stage 2 Advanced Screenwriting subject. Responsible for overseeing the delivery of both units at the national level, continuous improvement and updating of the syllabus, and managing the national community of practice including moderation and calibration processes.

Screen Studies and Practice Lecturer                                                    current

Editing Principles and Techniques Lecturer / Unit Coordinator                           2022

Introduction to Cinematography and Sound Lecturer                                      2022 / 2023

Project Design and the Entrepreneur Lecturer                                           2022 / 2023

RMIT University                                                                        

Experiment. Screen. Sensation. Experimental Film Studio Studio Leader                   2015 - 2021
In this studio we developed short film productions with an emphasis on experimental cinema, the history of avant-garde filmmaking and the nexus between creative production and scholarly research. I was the course designer and responsible for the curriculum and delivery including the curation of special guests, screenings, and workshops.

Histories of Film Theory Offering Course Coordinator 2015, Tutor                        2011 - 2021
An in-depth study of various avenues of film history and theory. The course is challenging conceptually and intellectually and seeks to foster a deep enthusiasm and appreciation for the possibilities of the cinematic arts.

Media 6 Tutor
2018 - 2021
A capstone course in which students gain insight into national and global media and cultural industries. Students begin their transition to a professional career and/or postgraduate study. At the end of the course their portfolios demonstrate abilities to operate and innovate within a rapidly changing media environment.

Media 1 Tutor                                                                          2018 - 2021
An introductory course in which students encounter the field of media studies and are inducted into the processes of university course structures and the standards expected of them. Students learn to create media, individually and collaboratively, and to situate and evaluate their work in relation to contemporary industry and academic contexts.

Monash University          

Art and Design in Film / Film Practice Sessional Lecturer                               2018 - 2021
Aimed at introducing essential cinematic, aesthetic concepts to fine art students studying at MADA. I designed and administered Art and Design in Film in 2018. From 2019 I designed and administered Film Practice, a follow-up unit exploring more advanced film making techniques and outcomes. In 2021, due to the COVID pandemic, Senior Lecturer Dr Michael Vale and I combined our respective syllabuses and delivered a revised version of Art and Design in Film in tandem.

(RMIT University courses continued)

Singapore Campus: Making Media Sessional Lecturer                                       2016 - 2021
Responsible for the entire delivery of the course to Singapore students in their summer semester.
Asian Cinemas Tutor
2020 - 2021
Video Production Essentials for Online (Short Course) - Course Designer and Lecturer   2016 - 2018
Post Industrial Media Tutor                                                            2014 - 2016
Popular Cinema Tutor                                                                    2015 - 2017
Editing Media Texts Offering Course Coordinator / Tutor
2011 - 2015
Writing Media Texts Offering Course Coordinator / Tutor                                 2011 - 2015
Authorship and Narrative in the Cinema Tutor                                          2011 - 2014                                                               

CREATIVE PRACTICE RESEARCH AND EXHIBITION

My work has been exhibited in film festivals across the globe. My short film The Audition (2016) opened the G’Day USA film forum and festival at Palm Springs International ShortFest 2016; the second largest festival of its kind in the world. I have competed in the prestigious Lexus Short Film Fellowship at the Sydney Film Festival (2017) and exhibited photography at Melbourne’s Centre for Contemporary Photography (CCP).  

The Valley (Paul Harmon 2022)
Music Video director, producer, editor                                               Under consideration for multiple exhibition platforms

This Magic Moment
Video Installation / Short Film director, producer, editor
2021
Lift-Off Online Global Network | Pinewood Studios [UK] 2022
Rest Online Exhibition | Arrangement of Contemporary Video Works 2021
Indie Short Fest (Los Angeles) [US]Nominated: Best Experimental Short 2021
IndieX Film Festival (Los Angeles) [US] Nominated: Best Experimental Short 2021
Palm Springs International Shortfest Film Market [US] 2021 (Academy Award accredited)
IVOX TV Distribution
Cult Critic Movie Awards (US, 49th Season)
Flickfair Film Festival On Demand [US] 2022

The Night-Side of Nature
Video Installation: director, producer, editor                                         2021
The Lightroom Gallery (South Australia) Opening Exhibition 2021

Photo Series: Film Stills director, producer, editor
2020
Centre for Contemporary Photography (CCP) Ilford Milieu Salon official selection 2020

Short Film: Boy Saviour co-director, writer, producer, editor
2017
Austin Film Festival [US] official selection 2017 (Academy Award accredited)
Sydney Film Festival Lexus Short Film Fellowship official selection 2017 (Academy Award accredited)
24th Greek Film Festival (Delphi-Bank Australia) official selection 2017                   
Short Film: The Audition   director, writer, producer, editor      
2016
Los Angeles Film Review Independent Film Awards Gold Medalist [US] 2017
Palm Springs International ShortFest [US] official selection 2016 (Academy Award accredited)
Austin Film Festival [US] official selection 2016 (Academy Award accredited)
Evolution Mallorca International Film Festival [Spain] official selection 2016
Erie International Film Festival [US] official selection 2016
Zed Fest Film Festival and Screenplay Competition [US] Semi-Finalist 2016

Short Film: Motel director, writer, producer, editor
2016
Los Angeles Film Review Independent Film Awards Gold Medalist 2017
Erie International Film Festival [US] official selection 2016

Short Film: Hospitality producer
2015
Melbourne International Film Festival MIFF official selection Accelerator Program 2016
(Academy Award accredited)

Experimental Video: I Another director, producer, editor                             
2015                                                           
Experimental Forum Film Festival (Los Angeles) [US] Honorable Mention Award 2016
Erie International Film Festival [US] official selection 2016
Mobile Innovation Network Aotearoa (MINA) official selection 2015
Letters of recommendation can be provided on request.