Dr Theresa Heath

Theresa’s research sits at the intersection of film studies and creative industries with a focus on marginalised cinemas and film festivals, immersive exhibition, and disabled access in screen industries. She is currently a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow working on the project Care Revolutions: Radical Approaches to Disability, Access and Care in Screen Industries which explores access and care at disability film festivals around the world. She has published on queer and women’s film festivals, queer cinephilia, representations of chronic illness in cinema, and festival audiences and digital spectatorship, and in 2025 published the monograph Queer Film Festivals: Reclaiming the City for publication with Routledge. Theresa formerly ran a queer community film festival focused on social, economic and disabled access, and advises film festivals and community organisations as a disabled access consultant. She is committed to developing access in screen spaces, and is learning British Sign Language.

Academic background

Theresa has a PhD in Film Studies from King’s College London where she researched the relationship between queer film festivals and urban space in the context of increasingly neoliberal approaches to art and culture. She holds an MA in English Literature 1850-Present, also from King’s, where she researched queer women’s writing on the city. A Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, she has taught and convened modules across a range of subjects in both film and creative industries departments on topics such as experimental filmmaking, accessible curation, film noir, media audiences and networks, media production cultures, and queer, trans, feminist and disability cinemas.

Current research and collaborations

Theresa is currently working on the Leverhulme-funded project Care Revolutions: Radical Approaches to Disability, Access and Care in Screen Industries. This three-year project uses a multi-modal research framework including creative methods to explore approaches to access and care at disability film festivals in the UK, Turkey, India and Hungary. The project aims to understand the relationship between on-screen representations of care and disability and the provision of access and care in physical screen spaces. Theresa is also developing a book project researching immersive experiences at film festivals with Dr Lora Markova. 

Completed PhD / research supervisions

Theresa has supervised a number of Master’s dissertations in global media industries, arts and cultural management, and creative industries. She welcomes PhD applications from students working on marginalised cinemas, film and social justice, immersive exhibition, and accessibility in screen spaces.

Theresa currently serves on the EDI Committee, leading on initiatives to improve the experience of disabled students. She also co-leads the LUL Gender, Feminism and Sexuality Studies Research Group.