Dr. Catalin Brylla is Principal Lecturer in Film and TV and Deputy Director of the Centre for the Study of Conflict, Emotion and Social Justice at Bournemouth University. He is also Fellow of the Society for Cognitive Studies of the Moving Image and Chair of its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee.

He researches media audiences, representation, stigma, stereotypes, prejudice and the social impact of media. His work advocates for the scholar's and media maker’s understanding of how media representations impacts on society’s perception of stigmatised groups, such as disabled people, African cultures, sex workers and women in minority communities.

Catalin is an editorial board member for the Journal of Media Practice and Education and for Screen Bodies - An Interdisciplinary Journal of Experience, Perception and Display. He is fellow of the Higher Education Academy, holds a PhD in Media and Communication from Goldsmiths, University of London, and he is external examiner for media degrees at the University of Newcastle and the University of Glasgow.

Before joining Bournemouth University, Catalin worked at the University of West London, where he was member of the Faculty’s Research and Enterprise Committee, as well as the Research Ethics Panel. Prior to that he worked at the University of South Wales, University College London, Middlesex University and Goldsmiths, University of London.

Research

Catalin undertakes research in the areas of media audiences, social cognition, cognitive film theory, stereotypes, embodied experience, representation, ethnography, disability, gender, post-colonialism and practice-led research. His research is practice-led and impact-driven, and it aims for reducing the stigma of marginalised communities.

He has worked on a variety of research projects, including an AHRC-funded project on disability and media advocacy in Tanzania, and a BA-funded project on media engagement for wellbeing in the visually impaired community. He has also received funding from the British Academy ECR Network to run interdisciplinary research development events.

His publications include the co-edited volumes "Documentary and Disability" (with Helen Hughes) and" Cognitive Theory and Documentary Film" (with Mette Kramer), as well as his monograph "Documentary and Stereotypes: Reducing Stigma through Factual Media".

As a practice-led researcher Catalin has made several feature documentaries that represent marginalised or stigmatised social groups, aiming to bypass 'othering' stereotypes. These include "Zanzibar Soccer Dreams", portraying women's football on the predominantly Muslim island of Zanzibar, "The Terry Fragments", depicting the everyday life of a blind painter, and "June's Patchwork" about a blind writer and historian.

Catalin has supervised PhD students on a range of topics, such as “Using Media to Map the Experiences of People with Dementia” and “An Ethnography of Political Activism against Gentrification in Hackney”.

He welcomes PhD proposals in any of the above areas.

Publications

Grants

Outreach & engagement

Media coverage

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