A Closer Look
About me
An overview of my academic path and research focus.
Academic Profile
I am a cultural historian specialising in film festivals, conflict and cultural memory.
My research examines the role of film festivals in contexts of political upheaval and war, with a particular focus on their function as sites of memory-making, political influence and gendered representation.
As the author of the first scholarly study on women in wartime film festivals, my work contributes to defining an emerging research area at the intersection of film festival, border, gender and conflict studies.
It has received international recognition through two Marie Curie Fellowships.
EU funded research
Current Marie Curie project
My current research project, Film Festivals & War: A Fe-Male Perspective, 1939-today (FESTWAR FM), examines the evolution film festivals as sites of memory in wartime contexts from a gendered perspective.
It draws on case studies of the Second World War, the Yugoslav wars, and the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Palestine to analyse how film festivals shape contested memories of war.
The project is carried out between Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and Concordia University in Montreal.
Previous Marie Curie project
My previous project, The Cinematic Battle for the Adriatic: Films, Frontiers and the Trieste Crisis (CBA TRIESTE), analysed film practices related to the Cold War conflict over the Italian-Yugoslav borderlands, producing the first open access digital archive and database of relevant films.
The project was carried out at University Ca’ Foscari of Venice (2021–2024).
Doctoral Research
I hold a PhD in Contemporary History from the University of Paris-Saclay (2017).
My doctoral research examined the evolution of the Yugoslav Documentary and Short Film Festival (1954–2004), across the socialist period and the wars of the 1990s, tracing shifts in the festival’s identity and its role in shaping the cultural and political history of Yugoslavia.
The project received support from the French Foundation for Heritage Science PATRIMA.
This research resulted in the first monograph to examine the history of Yugoslavia through the lens of a film festival (2023).
Approach & Background
Across these projects, my work is shaped by my own transnational trajectory and a dual grounding in academia and the cultural sector.
Moving between research and curatorial and public-facing work, I approach cultural scholarship through a close engagement between theory and practice.
I live and work between France, Italy, Serbia and Canada, with research regularly taking me to archives across Europe and North America.
Expert Advisory
Alongside my academic research, I serve as an independent expert adviser supporting applicants and evaluating proposals for EU funded programmes across the humanities, social sciences and cultural sectors, including Horizon Europe, MSCA, and EIT Culture & Creativity.
Other Interests
I also write fiction.
Profiles & Platforms
Find my work
Access my publications and research activity in academic platforms.
