I write about the aesthetics and politics of transnational filmmaking, acting and stardom between Latin America, the U.S. and Spain. I’ve published a monograph on New Transnationalisms in Contemporary Latin American (2018) that focuses on key directors who have facilitated the recent 'boom' in a transnationalized and sometimes English language Latin American cinema (Iñárritu, Del Toro, Cuarón, Meirelles, Salles and Campanella). The book also incorporates festival and art house directors (Llosa, Martel, Alonso, Gomes, Aïnouz, Eimbcke, Reygadas) whose work is also impacted by transnational flows of capital and creativity. I've also published a monography on classical Mexican director Emilio Fernández (2007) and on Fernández's involvement with Hollywood studio RKO and its attempts to co-opt the Mexican film industry and its stars in the immediate WWII era (2011). I’m currently writing a third monograph (contracted to Edinburgh University Press) Finding Emilio Fernández: Mexican Extras and Latinx Representation in Late Silent and Early Sound Era Hollywood. I have also written about Latin America’s cult and exploitation cinemas and co-edited two anthologies about Latin American and global cult cinemas: Latsploitation (2009) and Global Cult Cinemas: Decolonizing Cult Film Studies (2026)

I welcome PhD applications about:

•       Transnational cinemas

•       Transnational stardom

•       Representations of race and ethnicity in the cinema

•       Contemporary and classical Latin American cinemas

•       Exploitation and cult cinemas

Current and recent doctoral students are writing/have written on:

La huella de lo audiovisual en la cultura ecuatoriana: memorias perdidas, Gabriela Alemán (Defended May 2003)

Una Epoca Fatal: Mexican Cinema's Death and Rebirth, 1994-2006, Misha MacLaird (Defended May 2009)

Journeys into Perversion: Vision, Desire and Economies of Transgression in the Films of Jess Franco, Glenn Ward. (Defended May 2011)

Virtual Corporeality: Narrative and Spectacle in Hollywood VR Cinema, Emma Withers. (Defended August 2016)

The Distribution and Exhibition of Popular European Film in British cinema, 1960-1975, Adrian Smith (Defended June 2018)

Empowerment, Protest and Celebration: The representation of ‘Black Girl Magic’ in Speculative Fiction and Contemporary Culture

Post Millenium Bollywood Stardom