Kevin Smets
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kevinsmets.bsky.social
Kevin Smets
@kevinsmets.bsky.social
1.5K followers 1.1K following 29 posts

Professor media & culture at Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Teaches film history. ERC project www.reelborders.eu. Film, migration, Turkey, borders, media. Research group ECHO: Media, Culture & Politics

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Sociology 25%
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kevinsmets.bsky.social
Kevin Smets @kevinsmets.bsky.social · Feb 6
Following my research stay at the LSE, I wrote this blogpost for Media@LSE about the "afterlife" of participatory filmmaking. Thank you to @myriageorgiou.bsky.social for this opportunity & to @irenegutierrez.bsky.social for your amazing work on the films. Full text: blogs.lse.ac.uk/medialse/202...
How participatory filmmaking can deepen our understanding of life on the border
As part of the ERC-funded project Reel Borders, researchers and participants joined forces to create a series of films addressing questions of border experiences, citizenship and belonging, trauma,…
blogs.lse.ac.uk

kevinsmets.bsky.social
Kevin Smets @kevinsmets.bsky.social · 19d
This includes amazing work by Christoffer Kølvraa, @cat-tebaldi.bsky.social, Omran Shroufi, @161bpm.bsky.social, @madosser.bsky.social, @bforchtner.bsky.social + our intro article, a mapping review & research agenda for the study of far right engagement with 🎬 📺 🎮 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com

Reposted by Benjamin De Cleen

kevinsmets.bsky.social
Kevin Smets @kevinsmets.bsky.social · 19d
⚡ Out now: Javnost-The Public special issue "The far-right and the politics of films, series and videogames", co-edited w @benjamindecleen.bsky.social, Omran Shroufi, Joke Bauwens & me. Full issue here www.tandfonline.com/toc/rjav20/3...

Reposted by Dave Sinardet, Christine Kooi, Eric Storm , and 4 more

kvdb.apache.be
Karl van den Broeck @kvdb.apache.be · 27d
De academie die brandhout maakte van de Vlaamse canon, de KVAB, krijgt nu de rekening gepresenteerd. Ze verliest al (!) haar subsidies in 2026.
Minister-president noemt de academie (die nochtans de Vlaamse kandidaat Nobelprijswinnaars voordraagt) geen kerntaak meer.

apache.be/2025/10/16/d...
Diependaele keldert Vlaamse academie die brandhout maakte van Vlaamse canon
De Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie van België voor Wetenschappen en Kunsten verliest in 2026 al haar subsidies.
apache.be

kevinsmets.bsky.social
Kevin Smets @kevinsmets.bsky.social · Sep 3
New papers from the @erc.europa.eu Reel Borders project: on "Borderwork as artistic practice" in Geopolitics + on participatory filmmaking in Sensate.

▶️ doi.org/10.1080/1465...
▶️ sensatejournal.com/rethinking-a...

By stellar team Lennart Soberon @silviamaresia.bsky.social & Irene Gutiérrez-Torres
Title page of article in the journal Sensate: "Rethinking audiovisual methods. Using film as a tool to overcome borders." written by Irene Gutiérrez-Torres, Silvia Almenara-Niebla and Kevin Smets

kevinsmets.bsky.social
Kevin Smets @kevinsmets.bsky.social · Jul 16
Sending this manuscript off to @edinburghup.bsky.social today! In a few months we'll hopefully be able to share the whole thing. Great team work with Lennart Soberon, Irene Gutiérrez-Torres and @silviamaresia.bsky.social #ReelBorders #kinotopias @erc.europa.eu
Kinotopias: film, place and belonging in a bordered world (title of forthcoming book). Authors: Kevin Smets, Lennart Soberon, Irene Gutierrez Torres, Silvia Almenara Niebla

kevinsmets.bsky.social
Kevin Smets @kevinsmets.bsky.social · Jun 10
www.standaard.be/opinies/wat-...
Wat u doet in het volwassenenonderwijs, Zuhal Demir, getuigt van diepe minachting
Twee leraars in het volwassenenonderwijs vragen de minister van Onderwijs om de besparingen terug te draaien.
www.standaard.be

Reposted by Kevin Smets

scmstudies.bsky.social
Society for Cinema and Media Studies @scmstudies.bsky.social · Jun 3
(1/1) New! Film Atlas (filmatlas.com) is an online encyclopedia of film as a physical medium, featuring essays + images contributed by 200+ authors from 25+ countries.

Reposted by Kevin Smets

claesdevreese.bsky.social
Claes de Vreese @claesdevreese.bsky.social · May 15
Academic freedom in the Netherlands under pressure.

New report from Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences @knaw-nl.bsky.social

What is needed:
🚩 stronger freedom of research
🚩 less substantive government influence
🚩 support against intimidation and attacks

www.knaw.nl/nieuws/knaw-...
Academische vrijheid in Nederland onder druk - KNAW
Academische vrijheid in Nederland onder druk
www.knaw.nl

Reposted by Kevin Smets

apache.be
apache/ @apache.be · Mar 8
De democratie wordt van alle kanten aangevallen en haar belangrijkste bewaker, de #onderzoeksjournalist, is een bedreigde soort. Daarom lanceert Apache het Fellowship Georges Timmerman. Help jij ons aan €50.000 om de opleiding van twee jonge waakhonden te financieren? Meer info op apache.be/FGT
GEZOCHT: € 50.000 voor de training van jonge honden De onafhankelijke onderzoeksjournalist is een met uitsterven bedreigde soort. Terwijl we hem harder nodig hebben dan ooit. Daarom start Apache een journalistiek kweekprogramma: het Fellowship Georges Timmerman Genoemd naar de gelauwerde onderzoeksjournalist en founding father van Apache. Help jij ons aan de 50.000 euro die we nodig hebben om twee jonge journalistieke talenten op te leiden tot waakhonden van de democratie? Doneer via apache.be/FGT

kevinsmets.bsky.social
Kevin Smets @kevinsmets.bsky.social · Feb 27
A new article from the Reel Borders @erc.europa.eu team, published in @culturalstudies.bsky.social. Lennart Soberon reports on extensive ethnographic work and 50+ interviews, discussing post-conflict memory work in film and television. Read it here: doi.org/10.1080/0950...
Navigating the troubles’ tidelands: the push and pull of memory in post-conflict northern Ireland’s film & television industry
The screen representation of Northern Ireland has since long been a hotbed for issues of remembering and reimagining. Loaded with symbolic questions on authorship and authenticity, the treatment of...
doi.org

kevinsmets.bsky.social
Kevin Smets @kevinsmets.bsky.social · Feb 17
Two vacancies in a new research project, "Home Frames", on migration history & amateur film in Belgium, funded by @fwovlaanderen.bsky.social. Come work with Gertjan Willems (UAntwerpen) and myself (VUBrussel) on this exciting topic:
🎞️ www.uantwerpen.be/nl/jobs/vaca...
🎞️ jobs.vub.be/job/Elsene-R...
Doctoraatsbursaal binnen het domein filmstudies | Universiteit Antwerpen
YUFE vacature
www.uantwerpen.be

kevinsmets.bsky.social
Kevin Smets @kevinsmets.bsky.social · Dec 10
Vacancy posted by great colleagues @soasuni.bsky.social. A part-time postdoc position in the project "Archives of solidarity", for visual anthropologists or media scholars: vacancies.soas.ac.uk/job/643848
Postdoctoral Researcher at SOAS
Apply now for Postdoctoral Researcher, Bloomsbury, Camden, Greater London, United Kingdom at SOAS
vacancies.soas.ac.uk

Reposted by Kevin Smets

Pooja Rangan @p8ja.bsky.social · Dec 3
I wrote a book on how justice-driven documentaries teach us to listen—and how those listening habits can perpetuate injustice or bring about transformative change. Coming soon from Columbia UP, read more about it here: cup.columbia.edu/book/the-doc...
The title of the book (The Documentary Audit) appears in bold black text against a deep crimson background that fades to pink toward the bottom right. The book's subtitle (Listening and the Limits of Accountability) and the author's name (Pooja Rangan) appear in smaller pink letters.

kevinsmets.bsky.social
Kevin Smets @kevinsmets.bsky.social · Nov 29
Thank you Hannah & @sociowarwick.bsky.social for the invitation & great discussion afterwards!
uncomfiest.bsky.social Hannah Jones @uncomfiest.bsky.social · Nov 27
Enjoyed finally meeting @kevinsmets.bsky.social in person and hearing his
@sociowarwick.bsky.social Research Seminar paper today, including getting to see one of the many brilliant short films about borders to come out of his ERC Reel Borders project: vimeo.com/783186118
Hija/Daughter- Khadija
This is "Hija/Daughter- Khadija" by Irene Gutierrez on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.
vimeo.com

kevinsmets.bsky.social
Kevin Smets @kevinsmets.bsky.social · Nov 28
More than 10 years after my first @scmstudies.bsky.social conference in Boston, I'm so glad to be going to the next conference in Chicago. Looking forward to presenting Reel Borders research & reconnecting with the SCMS community 🎬

Reposted by Kevin Smets

uncomfiest.bsky.social
Hannah Jones @uncomfiest.bsky.social · Nov 27
Enjoyed finally meeting @kevinsmets.bsky.social in person and hearing his
@sociowarwick.bsky.social Research Seminar paper today, including getting to see one of the many brilliant short films about borders to come out of his ERC Reel Borders project: vimeo.com/783186118
Hija/Daughter- Khadija
This is "Hija/Daughter- Khadija" by Irene Gutierrez on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.
vimeo.com

Reposted by Kevin Smets

foragency.bsky.social
FORAGENCY @foragency.bsky.social · Nov 25
The first episode of our podcast is out! Tune in to listen to Diogo Cabral on MTH history, leafcutting ants in the Amazon, the activist nature of #envhist and on the edited volume MTH histories of Latin America and the Carribbean
ercforagency.eu/index.php/20...
Episode 1.01. Diogo De Carvhalo Cabral on history beyond the human
For the first episode of Foraging, we hosted Prof. Diogo de Carvhalo Cabral, of Trinity College Dublin. Diogo is a fascinating voice in more-than-human history. His groundbreaking research on the...
ercforagency-podcasts.castos.com

Reposted by Kevin Smets

foragency.bsky.social
FORAGENCY @foragency.bsky.social · Nov 19
We are thrilled to announce the publication of the first season of "Foraging. A podcast in Environmental Humanities" 🌱: 4 in-depth interviews with historians and anthropologists on their work, methods, inspirations
ercforagency.eu/index.php/20...
Introducing Foraging: a podcast in environmental humanities – FORAGENCY
ercforagency.eu

Reposted by Thomas Diez, Suzan Ilcan, Kevin Smets

kevinsmets.bsky.social
Kevin Smets @kevinsmets.bsky.social · Nov 13
Suggestion: the @foragency.bsky.social project

kevinsmets.bsky.social
Kevin Smets @kevinsmets.bsky.social · Nov 12
Thank you Petra for this great list. I would love to be added as well if possible - thanks!

kevinsmets.bsky.social
Kevin Smets @kevinsmets.bsky.social · Nov 12
Thank you to the Ibn Zohr University team and especially Mohammed Ouhemmou for the invitation. Very thoughtful questions from the participants too!

kevinsmets.bsky.social
Kevin Smets @kevinsmets.bsky.social · Nov 12
Love it when film scholars are invited to contribute to social science conferences. I just had the pleasure to deliver a keynote address at the conference "Mediterranean Crossings: Rotating Politics of Migration in the Mediterranean Space" reelborders.eu/AgadirConfer...
AgadirConference — Reel_Borders
Keynote presentation On 9 November, Kevin Smets gave a keynote lecture on the Reel Borders project at the international conference “Mediterranean Crossings:...
reelborders.eu

Reposted by Kevin Smets

petramolnar.com
Petra Molnar @petramolnar.com · Nov 11
As our community here slowly grows, here is a starting list of people working on critical border studies, #migration journalists, #refugee storytellers, and border abolitionists like @hebagowayed.bsky.social @vwlegal.bsky.social @vanessid.bsky.social @nsharma101.bsky.social @nandosigona.bsky.social

kevinsmets.bsky.social
Kevin Smets @kevinsmets.bsky.social · Nov 8
thank you so much for this list, looking forward to loads of inspiration and new encounters! i'd like to be added too if possible - thank you!

Reposted by Kevin Smets, Vicki Mayer

Reposted by Kevin Smets

Reposted by Kevin Smets

dukepress.bsky.social
Duke University Press @dukepress.bsky.social · Oct 21
In "Remixing Wong Kar-Wai," Giorgio Biancorosso analyzes filmmaker Wong Kar-wai’s use of pre-existing music to create the soundtracks for his films. Read the introduction for free now.
ow.ly/nw7e50TPNTu

kevinsmets.bsky.social
Kevin Smets @kevinsmets.bsky.social · Oct 17
Studying migration? This new Handbook of Research Methods in Migration offers a range of hands-on approaches for the field. I contributed a chapter on visual methods. Find out more here: www.elgaronline.com/edcollchap-o... (the chapter is #openaccess).