Film and Human Flourishing: A Series of Online Talks from around the Globe
Drawing on insights from scholars and practitioners from around the globe, this series of talks situates practices of cinematic production, curation, and viewing in the context of human flourishing and public value.
An evolving phenomenon, the cinema is commonly understood to have expanded in response to technological innovations (e.g. the invention of sound, color stock, 3D technologies, or computer-generated images). What has been largely overlooked is the extent to which the cinema is currently being transformed by pressures arising from changing social expectations, especially as these relate to diversity, inclusion, and recognition, and to the requirements of a dignified life.
If cinema in the wake of the talkies was a phenomenon situated within a normative space where viewers were assumed to be cognitively functional and fully in possession of the senses of sight and hearing, moving images are now increasingly mobilized in contexts of disability, medical treatment, and impairments caused by aging. Also, whereas harms incurred during cinematic production were once public secrets, such harms are increasingly considered unacceptable and profoundly at odds with the idea of cinematic works having aesthetic and artistic value.
In short, there is considerable and clearly growing interest in seeing cinema through the lens of human flourishing, as a means of achieving a measure of well-being across a human lifespan or during periods of illness; or as a way of making rich sensory experiences available to disabled communities in the context of an appropriately inclusive society. Equally important is the now unavoidable demand that involvement in the creative industries, as a practitioner, should be compatible with human flourishing. That is, the conditions of creative work should be conducive to physical and psychological health.
Talks featured in the Film and Human Flourishing series examine the different dimensions of the ongoing transformation of the cinema with an eye to capturing the cinema’s potential as a vehicle for public value based on human well-being.
Session 1:
Film and Person-centred Dementia Care
Date: 16 Dec. 2025 (TUE.)
Time: 16:30–18:00 (HKT, GMT+8)
Location: Online via Zoom
Speakers: Dr. Anders Møller Jensen (Research Centre for Care and Rehabilitation, VIA University College, Denmark )
Moderator: Dr. Rob Dean (Lincoln School of Creative Arts, University of Lincoln ,UK)
Anders Møller Jensen will present his research on how film can be used as a powerful tool in person-centred dementia care. His presentation explores how film media can evoke memories, create emotional connections, and strengthen identity among people living with dementia. The presentation demonstrates how film-based approaches can foster meaningful conversations and improve the quality of life for people with dementia, and discusses the political framework in Denmark that enabled this development.
Anders Møller Jensen is a Danish dementia researcher at VIA University College whose work focuses on the intersection of culture and dementia care. A central theme in his research is the use of reminiscence methods to strengthen identity and well-being among people living with dementia.
Through the co-development and evaluation of the DVD box set “Life in the Memories,” a collection of 50 short films designed for reminiscence activities in nursing homes, Anders has contributed significantly to the field of social dementia care in Denmark. The films aim to evoke personal memories and stimulate conversation among nursing home residents.
Furthermore, he has collaborated with the Danish Film Institute on Memory Cinema, a web platform that uses historical film archives to reawaken memories and foster dialogue in care homes and cinema theatres for people with dementia and their relatives. These efforts highlight Jensen’s commitment to leveraging cultural and cinematic resources to enhance person-centred approaches and improve the quality of life for people with dementia.
Through his work, Anders Møller Jensen has advanced the understanding of how film can serve as a powerful reminiscence tool, bridging cultural heritage and therapeutic practice in dementia care. His work continues to influence dementia care in Denmark—promoting culturally grounded approaches to support memory, identity, and social interaction for people with dementia. He is award-winning and researcher and serves as a board member of the Alzheimer Association in Denmark.
Session 2:
The Sacred Cinema of Asakusa: An Art of Possession
Date: 21 Jan. 2026 (WED.)*A
Time: 3:30–5:00 pm (HKT, GMT+8 | 7:30-9:00 am UK Time)
Location: Online via Zoom
Speakers: Dr. Phillip Warnell (Lincoln School of Creative Arts, University of Lincoln, UK)
Moderator: Dr Justine Atkinson (School of Culture & Creative Arts, The University of Glasgow, UK)
* Postponed due to the Tai Po fire tragedy. Originally scheduled on November 27th, 2025, as kick start talk for this series.
This study links several distinct auditory traditions,
in proximity relative to the rethinking of cultural
dissemination and accessibility in an eponymous
listening space, the cinema auditorium. A practice-
led research undertaking, it has involved in-situ
research to generate moving image work and
research witness to Benshi. This involves a live
orator delivering a spoken interpretation adjacent to
the cinema screen, an ‘art of possession’ (Sawato,
2025) scripted from a silent cinema repertoire. The
study also explores comparable processes of visual-
into-verbal audio commentary, given as live oration
during the screening of commercially distributed
film screenings. It will go on to analyse how the
inception of barrier-free cinema across seemingly
distinct cinema types, suggests a means by which
community events and inclusive cinema might
generate alternative pathways towards screen- making. Lastly, adjoined to the roots of Benshi and
audio description is a broader oral culture of
accompaniment to silent films.