UCU Media Studies Track

09/07/2025

Students! Want to get your film and cinema related essays published? Submit them to Film Matters, an exciting peer-reviewed film magazine, celebrating the work of undergraduate film scholars. It is published by students and for students!

Film Matters; Film Matters is an exciting peer-reviewed film magazine, celebrating the work of undergraduate film scholars. It is published by students and for students and each issue contains feature articles, a healthy reviews section, and occasional pieces such as profiles of film studies departm...

07/07/2025

Gebeten door feiten en wil je zelf het nieuws brengen? Ben je een jonge (burger)journalist of gewoon razend benieuwd naar hoe echte journalistiek werkt? Schrijf je dan in voor de Summer School Journalistiek van de Auteursbond.

📅 MA - DO 28.07 - 31.07, 13:00 - 19:00, Zinneke 1, Literair Salon
ℹ️ € 20 per persoon voor de hele week. Sociaal tarief: € 10. (Mail naar [email protected] als je gebruik wil maken van het sociaal tarief.)

Schrijf je in via de link in bio.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DLz5bPnJ0PS/?hl=en

04/06/2025

Hey! Are you an international student? And are you looking to broaden your social circle AND discover new creative hobbies at the same time? Then you’re in luck!
ASVA is organizing a series of free creative workshops in June for international students who are looking to make new connections. Keep your Friday afternoon free and stop by.

When
Every Friday afternoon in June from 17:15 till 19:00

Where
Q-Factory, Amsterdam-East

Line-up
June 6th: physical theatre class with M. Deep
June 13th: workshop creative writing with Soumaya Bazi
June 20th: guided meditation with Max from Aralez
June 27th: music workshop with music association MUS

Spread the word and sign up through the link!
https://forms.gle/vGz9L9qnWjJBDpTJ6

And see: https://www.instagram.com/p/DKHvRT1M137/?igsh=NWt3a2h2YzQ2OXls

16/04/2025

Join us for a screening of this year’s Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land on May 6, 18:30 in the Auditorium.

This is an initiative by UCU Teachers Against Genocide (10+ faculty/staff in the sciences, social sciences and humanities) in collaboration with UCU.SP.

We are inviting all UCU students, staff and friends to this screening which will be followed by an informed discussion.

Drinks, snacks and food for thought will be provided.

16/03/2025

📣 JOIN THE FESTIVAL CREW! 📣

Want to be part of the AIxDESIGN Festival magic from the inside? We’re assembling a dream team to help organize, host, document, and celebrate the AIxDESIGN Festival (May 1-3, 2025, Amsterdam).

We’re looking for volunteers to help us make it all come together! This *actually* is our first rodeo, so we’re calling all hands, hearts, ideas, and vibes to make this event as joyful & meaningful as possible! 🐛

Whether you’re a **people person, tech wizard, designer, writer, or builder**, there’s a role for you! No particular experience needed (although of course helpful)—just bring your energy, ideas, and good vibes.

We need help with:

🎪 PRODUCTION - Hosts, Builders, Tech Whizzes, SpeakerOps
🎨 DESIGN - Social, Accessibility, and Graphic Designers
📷 DOCUMENTATION - Live Content Creators, Photographers, Videographers, Interviewers
✍️ COMMS - Press/PR/Marketing Support, Program/Curatorial Writers

You can apply for specific roles, make an open application, or propose whatever you’re excited about contributing—we’ll do the mix-and-matching as we go!

🔗 More info + how to apply here → bit.ly/aixd-festival-open-calls
Apply by March 23th + April 16th.

💖 **Perks?** Festival tickets, a cute AIxD goodie bag, CV bragging rights & the chance to be part of the magic! ✨

07/03/2025

Open Call: U? once again invites (aspiring) curators who are deeply connected to a specific community to shape the program together with us, featuring music, audio/visual art, poetry, workshops, or any other discipline or format.

Community curators will have as much ownership as possible over their curation, and our program team will be there to guide them along the way.

Interested? We'd love to hear from you!
You can respond to this call via a written letter, (graphic) document or a short video (max 3 minutes). Please do so 18 March at the latest. You can send your submission to [email protected].

About Le Guess Who?
Le Guess Who? in Utrecht is a festival for groundbreaking music and culture, taking place 6-9 November 2025. It is an open, close-knit and enthusiastic organization with an informal and dynamic working atmosphere. Because we are a small team that steers away from hierarchies and are always looking for fresh perspectives, this collaboration offers an extensive look at the working methods of the festival, in terms of both programming, as well as marketing and production.

For U? 2025, we are looking for new and eager (aspiring) curators to highlight their communities and creativity at the festival.

28/02/2025

{via one of our alumni - thank you s!}
Want to make your own radio show? WORM is offering six young people the chance to create a 10-episode radio series and be part of our community!

What to expect?
Guidance in planning, recording & editing your show
Workshops, training & live radio time
An excursion + hands-on experience in radio production
Weekly broadcasts on weekday afternoons
Approx. 6 hours per week commitment (mid-April to mid-July)

Apply by Monday 24 March
FREE to join! More information worm.org 🫵

Any questions? Contact [email protected]
17h

Also check Worm's IG: https://www.instagram.com/p/DGlJQHWIP2n/

16/02/2025

Event | CONVERSATION and CREATIVE WORKSHOP with writer and filmmaker Abdellah Taïa
WORKSHOP IS OPEN TO UCU STUDENTS (DEPENDING ON CAPACITY)

Dates: 20 March 2025 (17:00) & 21 March 2025 (15:00)
Location: University of Amsterdam
Contact & registration: [email protected]
Registration deadline: 14 March 2025

CONVERSATION
Violence and Tenderness: Abdellah Taïa in conversation with Diego Semerene
Date: 20 March 2025
Time: 17:00-19:00

Born in Rabat, Morocco, Abdellah Taïa has written many novels in French, including A Country for Dying (2020), which was awarded the PEN Translation Prize for Emma Ramadan’s translation. His most recent novel, Le Bastion des Larmes, was shortlisted for the Prix Goncourt 2024 and won the Prix Decembre 2024. He is the director of two award-winning feature films, “Salvation Army” (2013) and “Cabo Negro (2025).

WRITING WORKSHOP
Voices in our Hearts: a writing workshop with Abdellah Taïa
Date: 21 March 2025
Time: 15:00-19:00

In this workshop led by Taïa, a small group of participants will experiment with various creative exercises and examples from Taïa’s own literary practice.

Only a few spots are available. Please send your name and academic affiliation (university and program), if any to: [email protected] by March 14 at the very latest. If interested in receiving credit, also include your student number.

Credit Details
Students partaking the writing workshop to earn 1 ECTS are expected to read one of the following Abdellah Taïa novels prior to the workshop: Living in Your Light, Salvation Army, An Arab Melancholia, or A Country for Dying.

31/01/2025

UCU Media Studies graduate Luki Areal-Colombe (cohort 2023), a q***r media researcher, documentarian, and film producer, was selected to be an ambassador at this year's International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR). Read more about the ambassadorship and about Luki here:

Hailing from diverse backgrounds, our three ambassadors for the 2025 edition bring a unique passion for cinema and an unwavering dedication to the festival. Throughout the festival, they’re invited to document their experiences with full access to the programme. Together, they are poised to elevat...

24/01/2025

Do you like to watch beautiful films? At the University of Groningen, we do too! We're conducting an exciting scientific study on cinematic beauty and we need YOU to participate! Help us uncover the secrets behind the visual elements that make films beautiful.
We would like to hear from you which films you find most beautiful and also interview you about your personal experiences of cinematic beauty. We are keen to learn from you what you love about beauty in films.
📅 What’s involved?
● Select 3 of your favourite beautiful moments in films
● Watch the movie clips and then participate in an interview
⏳ Time commitment
● About 60 minutes
💡 Why join?
● Contribute to groundbreaking research in film and psychology
● Explore beautiful films from a new perspective
● Get compensated for your time: €20
🔗Who can join?
● Anyone at least 18 years of age with a love for movies and a passion for
understanding visual beauty
● No previous experience required!
● Interviews can be done in English or Dutch
🔗Sign up today: https://rug.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9ABWDrXYjcSs5Ui

11/12/2024

Internship: research assistant for a project on LGBTQIA+ muslim storytelling in television and cinema.

From Uncle Naseem in Ramy to the punk band in We Are Lady Parts: LGBTQIA+ muslim representation on the (big) screen is not only rare, but also very much debated. How do we feel about films like Naz & Maalik, a Black gay muslim love story made from a white western perspective? What eludes us about the q***r Arab characters of Valentin Noujaïm's films?

For this research we'll be interviewing LGBTQIA+ muslims from outside of the west/in the western diaspora to see how our stories are being represented in television and cinema: which perspectives are missing, which ones are accurate? Should we see more representation of the rise in anti-Islamic sentiments, or can we focus purely on q***r joy? Where does our culture belong in these stories, with or without characters actively practicing Islam? Could tv and cinema be ways of re-imagining a utopian reality without anti-islamic and racist sentiments?

As a research assistant you will be an active part of the interviews we'll be conducting confidentially with LGBTQIA+ muslims. You'll also do archival research in LGBTQIA+ muslim characters in tv and cinema through time, mostly in media/online archives.

This is a part-time position from February to March 2025 with an internship fee, for students registered at MBO/HBO/WO in The Netherlands in any kind of study direction. You don't need to have any experience in research, it's more important to understand the identities we'll be researching. BIPOC, muslim, and/or LGBTQIA+ students are explicitly invited to apply: historically we're still underrepresented in the arts & research sectors of this country. Candidates are expected to speak and understand either English or Dutch.

Apply by sending a resume + brief letter explaining who you are, what you study, and what about this research topic interests you to [email protected]. Applications sent after Saturday 28 December will not be taken into consideration.