Acclaimed book uncovers women’s roles in British cinema

Melanie Bell, Professor of Film History in the School of Media and Communication, has won two awards for her book, ‘Movie Workers: The Women Who Made British Cinema’.

Published last year, the book is a groundbreaking examination of the unsung women whose work brought British filmmaking to the screen.

The British Association of Film, Television and Screen Studies (BAFTSS) gave its prestigious Award for Best Monograph to 'Movie Workers’, calling it “a staggering achievement that sets a new benchmark for media historiography.”

Professor Bell’s publication was also awarded the 2021 Richard Wall Memorial Award Special Jury Prize for an exemplary work in the field of recorded performance at the annual Theatre Library Association (TLA) Book Awards. They recognise outstanding scholarship in the fields of live and recorded/broadcast performance.

I’m honoured to receive these awards for my research on women in British film.<br><br>BAFTSS and the TLA collectively span a broad field of performance studies, from television to radio, film to theatre, and these awards shine a spotlight on the many women who worked behind-the-scenes in filmmaking.<br><br>They also set a precedent to encourage young scholars to be ambitious and daring in pursuing their research goals.

Read more about ‘Movie Workers: The Women Who Made British Cinema’.