The Visual Essay encourages you to combine your theoretical and practical understanding of film, and to explore film forms which go beyond narrative filmmaking. You will learn about the history and theory of the (literary and visual) essay and how the form has developed across media platforms. A series of in-person lectures introduce the many varying aspects of the film essay form, whilst attempting to draw commonalities between different makers, eras and cultural perspectives. We will give attention to both personal and political essay filmmaking, concepts of collage, quotation and appropriation, intersectional and post-colonial approaches to the form, and how visual essays have evolved in the gallery, internet and post internet contexts. You will have the opportunity to creatively explore these theoretical perspectives and deepen your practical application of these, using ready to hand technologies like mobile phones and found footage and engaging with public archives. The course is designed to encourage you to critically engage with visual form across moving and still image platforms, and to engage your critical and communication skills to re-evaluate the complexity of the visual essay.