Department of Film, Performance and Cultural Studies

The Department of Film, Performance and Cultural Studies at SOAS University of London offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Film Studies and Cultural Studies, alongside specialist teaching that enriches language and area studies programmes across the university. 

We are an interdisciplinary department committed to the study of cultural expression (film, art, music, literature, social media and more) across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Our open options are available to students across SOAS, including those from other colleges.

What is Film, Performance and Cultural Studies at SOAS?

The Department of Film, Performance and Cultural Studies at SOAS is an interdisciplinary department committed to research and teaching on all manner of cultural expression in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

At SOAS, this is studied from the ground up: we start with local contexts, grounded in specialist knowledge of world languages, and build outward. Our focus spans cinematic traditions from Bollywood to Nollywood, Chinese visual cultures, Japanese manga, urban text in Jerusalem, gender and sexuality in Southeast Asian cinema, and the decolonisation of African screen worlds – challenging Eurocentric narratives about what constitutes art and culture. 

We approach our subjects in ways that invite genuine engagement with cultures rather than objectifying them, embracing global perspectives that are rare in the study of film and the humanities more broadly.

Ranked among the UK's best for Arts and Humanities

SOAS is ranked 19th in the UK and 88th in the world for Arts and Humanities (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026).

Study film and culture beyond the Western canon

Our teaching spans cinematic traditions from Bollywood to Nollywood, Chinese visual cultures and Japanese manga, urban visual culture in Jerusalem, and gender and sexuality in Southeast Asian cinema, challenging Eurocentric narratives about art and culture.

Join a vibrant film culture 

Regular film screenings take place at SOAS each year, often with director Q&As and panel discussions, alongside volunteering opportunities at film festivals and a dedicated film section in the SOAS Library.

Learn in central London

Study in one of the world's leading centres for film, media and culture, with access to cinemas, festivals, museums, archives and creative organisations across the city.

Teaching in the Department of Film, Performance and Cultural Studies is informed by research into film, performance and cultural expression across Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Key areas of expertise include:

• Film and screen cultures: exploring cinematic traditions across Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. 
• Performance, culture and society: examining how performance, literature, media and cultural practice shape social and political life. 
• Visual cultures, identity and representation: investigating visual culture, gender, sexuality, race, identity and power in cultural texts and performances. 
• Creative and cultural industries: studying festivals, curation, cultural entrepreneurship and the processes through which culture is produced, shared and experienced.

Through the analysis of cinema, performance, visual media and cultural institutions, students develop a deeper understanding of how culture reflects and shapes societies around the world. 

Graduates from SOAS establish careers across film, museums, galleries and the wider creative and cultural sectors, including academia. Recent graduates have gone on to work for organisations including the BBC, Film Africa, Geneva International Film Festival, Modern Films, National Gallery, Royal Collection, Victoria and Albert Museum, Sotheby's and Somerset House Trust, including a filmmaker working at the Doha Film Institute. 

Graduates leave with a critical understanding of global arts and culture, alongside research, analytical and communication skills valued across the creative and cultural sector.