Dr. Roderik Smits
Research Fellow in Film and Media Studies
Communication Department, University Carlos III of Madrid
Profile
I have over 10 years of teaching and research experience across universities in the UK, Germany and Spain. Most of my teaching and research focus on the media and communication industries. I am interested in the production, distribution, exhibition and consumption of media content, particularly films and television series.
Current Research Projects
My own research project Online Platforms and Film Circulation (January 2020 - February 2025) draws on in-depth analysis of online platforms, expert interviews and audience research. The project examines how VOD platforms engage with and support non-mainstream, specialised films to exploit their potential in the online market.
I am also a project member of the research project Diversity and Subscription Video-on-Demand Services (2020-2024). It is the first major project to study how five powerful US-owned platforms (Netflix, HBO, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+ and Disney+) impact on the production and circulation of audiovisual works in the Spanish market.
Biography
I have been a researcher for various major projects in the past eight years:
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Beyond the Multiplex: Audiences for Specialised Film in English Regions, funded by AHRC (UK).
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Screen Agencies as Cultural Intermediaries: Negotiating and Shaping Cultural Policy for the Film and TV Industries within Selected Small Nations, funded by AHRC (UK).
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Mediating Cultural Encounters Through European Screens (MeCETES), funded by HERA (Europe).
I completed my PhD in Film Studies at the University of York (2014-2018) and subsequently worked as post-doctoral researcher at Cardiff University (2019) and Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF (2020).
Industry Engagement
I am keen to make an impact beyond the academy. I am currently working together with Europa Distribution on an industry report about online film circulation. In 2021, I worked together with Thessaloniki International Film Festival (Greece) on an industry study to analyse how online developments and COVID-19 are impacting on European film festivals.
I participated as a speaker and moderator in several industry events organised by Creative Europe (EU), Thessaloniki International Film Festival (Greece), LIGHTS Frankfurt International Film Festival (Germany) and Film Expo South (UK). I also contributed as a consultant and researcher to film industry reports for Creative Europe and the British Film Institute.
Editorial Duties
I am a reviewer for publishers such as Routlegde, Bloomsbury and Palgrave, and for journals such as Poetics, Studies in European Cinema, Television & New Media, NECSUS and L’avventura. I am also a member of the Editorial Advisory Board for the journal Arts and the Market, published by Emerald Insight.
word cloud of research interests