I need to do some research in Film Studies. Where do I start?

SEARCH KEYWORDS

To improve your results in HOLLIS, Academic Search Premier, JSTOR and other multidisciplinary resources, try adding some of the following terms:  

  • ‘film’, ‘cinema’, ‘motion pictures’, ‘movie’
  • Genre terms (documentary, film noir, silent film, horror)
  • Technical terms (lighting, cinematography, editing)
  • Geographic terms (United States, France, Hollywood, Nollywood)

KEY DATABASES

Film & Television Index Fulltext is the top database for scholarship in this field.

FIAF Index to Film Periodicals Database covers silent film particularly well, and includes some European journals not included in Film & Television Index Fulltext.

Film Index International finds production information (cast, crew, production company, etc.) and biographical information. Think of it as IMDB with quality control and without the ads.

FURTHER GUIDANCE

Reed Lowrie, the library liaison to Film, is available to support researchers via email or in-person consultation.

Film Research at Harvard offers helpful starting points for film research.

Service Alert:
  • Ask a Librarian, including chat and email, will be suspended from 5:00 pm on Thursday, December 22, through Monday, January 2, for the holiday break. Any questions received during this period will be answered beginning Tuesday, January 2, 2024.
  • If If you're experiencing an ongoing technical issue when you attempt to access library materials with your HarvardKey during these times, please report it to Library Technology Services.

Chat

 

Monday-Thursday 9am-9pm

Friday-Saturday 9am-5pm

Sunday 12noon-7pm

Chat is intended for brief inquiries from the Harvard community.

Meet

Talk to a librarian for advice on defining your topic, developing your research strategy, and locating and using sources. Make an appointment now.

These services are intended primarily for Harvard University faculty, staff and students. If you are not affiliated with Harvard, please use these services only to request information about the Library and its collections.