MA Film Production
Got a passion for filmmaking? Want to improve your professional showreel and boost your employability? Solent’s MA Film Production programme is ideally suited to students who...
Associate Professor Darren Kerr
Head of the Southampton Film & Television School
Faculty of Business, Law and Digital Technologies
Biography
Darren is Associate Professor and Head of the Southampton Film and Television School in the Faculty of Business, Law and Digital Technologies.
He is also the Faculty Strategic Lead for Research with a remit for supporting, developing and implementing a range of initiatives to enhance research culture, community and activity.
Darren has worked in the higher education sector for over 20 years. During this time he has taught a range of film and television-related subjects and has had positions as a course leader, programme group leader, media production coordinator and departmental head. He has also served on various university committees and steering groups, including research and knowledge exchange, ethics and Solent’s contribution to Southampton’s bid for City of Culture 2025. Darren also works closely with the central team leading the City of Culture bid and is a member of its research and evaluation working group.
After many years programming the University’s contribution to Southampton Film Week, Darren was invited to join its board of trustees at City Eye, which he now chairs. City Eye is a charitable organisation that has been supporting local filmmakers and film education for over 35 years.
Research interests
Darren’s research interests focus on the politics and representation of sexual cultures on screen. His publications largely focus on pornography, perversion and sexual violence, and includes Hard to Swallow: Hard-core Pornography on Screen (2012), Tainted Love: Screening Sexual Perversion (2017) and two volumes of The Sex Scene (2024). His work has contributed impact case studies to REF 2014 and REF 2021. He is the co-editor of the Screening Sex book series for Edinburgh University Press, a member of Routledge’s Porn Studies editorial board and co-leads the screeningsex.com project. With a network of over 100 international scholars screeningsex.com provides a platform for new researchers, short research articles, interviews and book reviews.
ORCID ID
Keywords
sex, pornography, obscenity, gender, cultural politics, perversion, sexual violence, horror, violence, adaptation
Further information
Darren has externally examined MRes and MPhil work on a range of subjects, from film culture, to the work of Cindy Sherman. Darren is currently supervising doctoral research examining BBFC policy, politics and the introduction of the 12A certificate.
Taught courses
BA (Hons) Film Production
Build the right skills, and develop your talent, and your portfolio to break into the film industry. Our high-end kit, and industry connections provide the ingredients for a successful career.
BA (Hons) Film and Television
Unleash your creativity with a TV and film career. Learn from industry experts in professional-grade facilities, and join our internationally successful graduates at the BBC, Sky, Disney and beyond.
