About Professor Julia Knight
I am Professor Emerita of Moving Image and have researched and published on various aspects of film and video, with a specialisation in moving image distribution.
Between 2002 and 2009, I served as principal investigator on a series of interlinked AHRC-funded research projects that explored independent film and video distribution in the UK from the late 1960s to 2000. As part of that research, I set up the Film and Video Distribution Database which explores the histories of the key distributors and promoters of British artists'/independent film and video (namely, the London Filmmakers' Co-op, The Other Cinema, LVA/London Electronic Arts, Cinema of Women, Circles, Film and Video Umbrella, Albany Video Distribution, Albany Video Distribution, and Lux) through archival documents from the organisations and their funders. New material is added to the database regularly.
Research
My research centres primarily on moving image distribution and the related practices of promotion, exhibition and archiving. This interest stemmed from working in the UK independent film and video sector, as co-manager of Albany Video Distribution and as a Commissioning Editor for Independent Media magazine. My current interests span both the historical practices of independent, artists' and non-mainstream moving image distribution, as well as the emerging online distribution and business models.