Staff Profile

Simon is a Lecturer in Film Practice at Film@CultureLab at Newcastle University. He teaches on both the BA Hons Film & Media and BA Film Practices programmes. His role is primarily the delivery of teaching to undergraduate students taking film production and film industry modules. Simon has worked with local film company Veto Films as a researcher and assistant editor on various factual and charities projects and also works independently. 

He has also nurtured relationships with local filmmakers primarily for student placement opportunities as well as liaising with broadcasters and screen-based media and creative development agency Northern Film and Media in the provision of training and career development opportunities for film and media graduates.

Simon is deputy Degree Programme Director working alongside DPD Alastair Cole. He is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Simon is studying for an interdisciplinary PhD by Creative Practice Audience, exploring the extent to which filmmakers can both depict and embody sacredness in documentary film production.

He is interested in developing a poetics of practice for the 'genuinely' religious film in a Christian context with a focus on documentary rather than drama. The project began as a theoretical study exploring affect, aesthetics and the transcendent in sacred cinema but is now practice based. It is interdisciplinary in approach and draws on theological as well as Film Studies research. 

• MCH 1011: Introduction to Film Technologies

• MCH 1035: Starting out in Filmmaking 

• MCH 1038: Introduction to Documentary

• MCH 1039: Introduction to the Film Industry

• MCH 3086: Film Practice Project